BRARY 

/ERSITY  OF 
dJ  FORM  I A 
sJTA    CRUZ 


V 


f 


Photo,  1864,  Brady i  Washington. 
A     LINCOLN. 


WORDS  OF  LINCOLN 


Including  Several  Hundred  Opinions  of  Ms  Life  and 

Character  by  Eminent  Persons  of 

tUs  and  other  Lands 


COMPILED   BY 

OSBORN    H.   OLDROYD 

AUTHOR    "  LINCOLN     MEMORIAL    ALBUM,"    "  A    SOLDIER'S 
STORY    OF   THE   SIEGE   OF   VICKSBURG " 


WITH    AN    INTRODUCTION   BY 

MELVILLE    W.     FULLER 

Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States 
AND 

TEUNIS    S.   HAMLIN 

Pastor  Church  of  the  Covenant,   Washington,  D.  C. 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
O.     H.     OLDROYD 


THE   MERSHON  COMPANY   PRESS, 
RAHWAY,  N.  J. 


THESE  WORDS  OF    LINCOLN 

ARE  DEDICATED  TO  THE 

AMERICAN    PEOPLE, 

FROM   WHOSE   HUMBLEST   RANKS  HR  ROSE, 

AND   WHOSE   INTERESTS 
HE   SO   FAITHFULLY   GUARDED   THROUGH   A   GREAT 

CIVIL  CONVULSION. 

"  WITH   MALICE  TOWARD   NONE,    WITH   CHARITY   FOR   ALL." 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PORTRAIT  OF  A.  LINCOLN,  ....  Frontispiece 

.    Facing  Page       8 

"  29 

"  46 

LINCOLN  HOMESTEAD,  SPRINGFIELD,  ILL.,  .  "  51 
WHITE  HOUSE,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  .  .  "  68 
CAPITOL,  WASHINGTON,  I).  C.,  .  .  .  "  68 
PORTRAITS  :  LINCOLN,  NICOLAY,  AND  HAY — GROUP,  '•  84 
FORD'S  THEATER,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  .  "  95 
CHAIR  IN  WHICH  THE  PRESIDENT  WAS  SHOT,  .  "  136 
HOUSE  IN  WHICH  LINCOLN  DIED,  WASHING- 
TON, D.  C "  181 

LINCOLN  MONUMENT,  SPRINGFIELD,  ILL.,  .        .  "  182 


The  chair  in  which  the  President  was  shot,  also  the  photographs  from  which 
the  illustrations  were  made,  are  contained  in  the"Oldroyd  Lincoln  Memorial 
Collection." 


PREFACE. 


THE  sun  which  rose  on  the  I2th  of  February, 
1809,  lighted  up  a  little  log  cabin  on  Nolin  Creek, 
Hardin  Co.,  Ky.,  in  which  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  that  day  ushered  into  the  world.  Although 
born  under  the  humblest  and  most  unpromising  cir- 
cumstances, he  was  of  honest  parentage.  In  this 
backwoods  hut,  surrounded  by  virgin  forests,  Abra- 
ham's first  four  years  were  spent.  His  parents  then 
moved  to  a  point  about  six  miles  from  Hodgens- 
ville,  where  he  lived  until  he  was  seven  years  of 
age,  when  the  family  again  moved,  this  time  to 
Spencer  Co.,  Ind. 

The  father  first  visited  the  new  settlement  alone, 
taking  with  him  his  carpenter  tools,  a  few  farming 
implements,  and  ten  barrels  of  whisky  (the  latter 
being  the  payment  received  for  his  little  farm)  on  a 
flatboat  down  Salt  Creek  to  the  Ohio  River.  Cross- 
ing the  river,  he  left  his  cargo  in  care  of  a  friend, 
and  then  returned  for  his  family.  Packing  the  bed- 
ding and  cooking  utensils  on  two  horses,  the  family 
of  four  started  for  their  new  home.  They  wended 
their  way  through  the  Kentucky  forests  to  those  of 
Indiana,  the  mother  and  daughter  (Sarah)  taking 
their  turn  in  riding. 

Fourteen  years  were  spent  in  the  Indiana  home. 
It  was  from  this  place  that  Abraham,  in  company 


viii  PREFACE. 

with  young  Gentry,  made  a  trip  to  New  Orleans  on 
a  flatboat  loaded  with  country  produce.  During 
these  years  Abraham  had  less  than  twelve  months 
of  schooling,  but  acquired  a  large  experience  in  the 
rough  work  of  pioneer  life.  In  the  autumn  of  1818 
the  mother  died,  and  Abraham  experienced  the  first 
great  sorrow  of  his  life.  Mrs.  Lincoln  had  possessed 
a  very  limited  education,  but  was  noted  for  intel- 
lectual force  of  character. 

The  year  following  the  death  of  Abraham's  mother 
his  father  returned  to  Kentucky,  and  brought  a  new 
guardian  to  the  two  motherless  children.  Mrs. 
Sally  Johnson,  as  Mrs.  Lincoln,  brought  into  the 
family  three  children  of  her  own,  a  goodly  amount 
of  household  furniture,  and,  what  proved  a  blessing 
above  all  others,  a  kind  heart.  It  was  not  intended 
that  this  should  be  a  permanent  home;  accordingly, 
in  March,  1830,  they  packed  their  effects  in  wagons, 
drawn  by  oxen,  bade  adieu  to  their  old  home,  and 
took  up  a  two  weeks'  march  over  untraveled  roads, 
across  mountains,  swamps,  and  through  dense  for- 
ests, until  they  reached  a  spot  on  the  Sangamon 
River,  ten  miles  from  Decatur,  111.,  where  they  built 
another  primitive  home.  Abraham  had  now  arrived 
at  manhood,  and  felt  at  liberty  to  go  out  into  the 
world  and  battle  for  himself.  He  did  not  leave, 
however,  until  he  saw  his  parents  comfortably  fixed 
in  their  new  home,  which  he  helped  build ;  he  also 
split  enough  rails  to  surround  the  house  and  ten 
acres  of  ground. 

In  the  fall  and  winter  of  1830,  memorable  to  the 
early  settlers  of  Illinois  as  the  year  of  the  deep 
snow,  Abraham  worked  for  the  farmers  who  lived 


PREFACE.  IX 

in  the  neighborhood.  He  made  the  acquaintance  of 
a  man  of  the  name  of  OfTut,  who  hired  him,  together 
with  his  stepbrother,  John  D.  Johnson,  and  his 
uncle,  John  Hanks,  to  take  a  flatboat  loaded  with 
country  produce  down  the  Sangamon  River  to 
Beardstown,  thence  down  the  Illinois  and  Missis- 
sippi Rivers  to  New  Orleans.  Abraham  and  his 
companions  assisted  in  building  the  boat,  which  was 
finally  launched  and  loaded  in  the  spring  of  1831, 
and  their  trip  successfully  made.  In  going  over  the 
dam  at  Ruttledge  Mill,  New  Salem,  111.,  the  boat 
struck  and  remained  stationary,  and  a  day  passed 
before  it  was  again  started  on  its  voyage.  During 
this  delay  Lincoln  made  the  acquaintance  of  New 
Salem  and  its  people. 

On  his  return  from  New  Orleans,  after  visiting  his 
parents, — who  had  made  another  move,  to  Goose- 
Nest  Prairie,  111.,— he  settled  in  the  little  village  of 
New  Salem,  then  in  Sangamon,  now  Menard,  County. 
While  living  in  this  place,  Mr.  Lincoln  served  in  the 
Black  Hawk  War,  in  1832,  as  captain  and  private. 
His  employment  in  the  village  was  varied ;  he  was 
at  times  a  clerk,  county  surveyor,  postmaster,  and 
partner  in  the  grocery  business  under  the  firm  name 
of  Lincoln  &  Berry.  He  was  defeated  for  the  Illi- 
nois Legislature  in  1832  by  Peter  Cartwright,  the 
Methodist  pioneer  preacher.  He  was  elected  to  the 
Legislature  in  1834,  and  for  three  successive  terms 
thereafter. 

Mr.  Lincoln  wielded  a  great  influence  among  the 
people  of  New  Salem.  They  respected  him  for  his 
uprightness  and  admired  him  for  his  genial  and 
social  qualities.  He  had  an  earnest  sympathy  for 


X  PREFACE. 

the  unfortunate  and  those  in  sorrow.  All  confided 
in  him,  honored  and  loved  him.  He  had  an  unfail- 
ing fund  of  anecdote,  was  a  sharp,  witty  talker,  and 
possessed  an  accommodating  spirit,  which  led  him 
to  exert  himself  for  the  entertainment  of  his  friends. 
During  the  political  canvass  of  1834,  Mr.  Lincoln 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  John  T.  Stuart  of 
Springfield,  111.  Mr.  Stuart  saw  in  the  young  man 
that  which,  if  properly  developed,  could  not  fail  to 
confer  distinction  on  him.  He  therefore  loaned 
Lincoln  such  law  books  as  he  needed,  the  latter 
often  walking  from  New  Salem  to  Springfield,  a 
distance  of  twenty  miles,  to  obtain  them.  It  was 
very  fortunate  for  Mr.  Lincoln  that  he  finally 
became  associated  with  Mr.  Stuart  in  the  practice 
of  law.  He  moved  from  New  Salem  to  Springfield, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1837. 

On  the  4th  of  November,  1842,  Mr.  Lincoln  mar- 
ried Miss  IVfery  Todd  of  Lexington,  Ky.,  at  the 
residence  of  Ninian  W.  Edwards  of  Springfield,  111. 
The  fruits  of  this  marriage  were  four  sons  :  Robert 
T.,  born  August  I,  1843;  Edward  Baker,  March  10, 
1846,  died  February  I,  1850;  William  Wallace, 
December  21,  1850,  died  at  the  White  House, 
Washington,  February  20,  1862;  Thomas,  ("Tad"), 
April  4,  1853,  died  at  the  Clifton  House,  Chicago, 
111.,  July  15,  1871.  Mrs.  Lincoln  died  at  the  house 
of  her  sister,  Springfield,  July  16,  1882. 

In  1846  Mr.  Lincoln  was  elected  to  Congress,  as 
a  Whig,  his  opponent  being  Peter  Cartwright,  who 
had  defeated  Mr.  Lincoln  for  the  Legislature  in  1832. 

The  most  remarkable  political  canvass  witnessed 
in  the  country  took  place  between  Mr.  Lincoln 


PREFACE.  xi 

and  Stephen  A.  Douglas  in  1858.  They  were  can- 
didates of  their  respective  parties  for  the  United 
States  Senate.  Seven  joint  debates  took  place  in 
different  parts  of  the  State.  The  Legislature  being 
of  Mr.  Douglas'  political  faith,  he  was  elected. 

In  1860  Mr.  Lincoln  came  before  the  country  as 
the  chosen  candidate  of  the  Republican  party  for 
the  Presidency.  The  campaign  was  a  memorable 
one,  characterized  by  a  novel  organization  called 
"  Wide  Awakes,"  which  had  its  origin  in  Hartford, 
Conn.  There  were  rail  fence  songs,  rail-splitting 
on  wagons  in  processions,  and  the  building  of 
fences  by  the  torch-light  marching  clubs. 

The  triumphant  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  took 
place  in  November,  1860.  On  the  nth  of  February, 
1861,  he  bade  farewell  to  his  neighbors,  and  as  the 
train  slowly  left  the  depot  his  sad  face  was  forever 
lost  to  the  friends  who  gathered  that  morning  to 
bid  him  God  speed.  The  people  along  the  route 
flocked  at  the  stations  to  see  him  and  hear  his 
words.  At  all  points  he  was  greeted  as  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  people,  and  such  he  proved  to  be.  Mr. 
Lincoln  reached  Washington  on  the  morning  of  the 
23d  of  February,  and  on  the  4th  of  March  was 
inaugurated  President.  Through  four  years  of 
terrible  war  his  guiding  star  was  justice  and  mercy. 
He  was  sometimes  censured  by  officers  of  the  army 
for  granting  pardons  to  deserters  and  others,  but 
he  could  not  resist  an  appeal  for  the  life  of  a  soldier. 
He  was  the  friend  of  the  soldiers,  and  felt  and  acted 
toward  them  like  a  father.  Even  workingmen  could 
write  him  letters  of  encouragement  and  receive 
appreciative  words  in  reply. 


Xll  PREFACE. 

When  the  immortal  Proclamation  of  Emanci- 
pation was  issued,  the  whole  world  applauded,  and 
slavery  received  its  death-blow.  The  terrible  strain 
of  anxiety  and  responsibility  borne  by  Mr.  Lincoln 
during  the  war  had  worn  him  away  to  a  marked 
degree,  but  that  God  who  was  with  him  throughout 
the  struggle  permitted  him  to  live,  and  by  his  mas- 
terly efforts  and  unceasing  vigilance  pilot  the  ship 
of  state  back  into  the  haven  of  peace. 

On  the  I4th  of  April,  1865,  after  a  day  of  unusual 
cheerfulness  in  those  troublous  times,  and  seeking 
relaxation  from  his  cares,  the  President,  accom- 
panied by  his  wife  and  a  few  intimate  friends,  went 
to  Ford's  Theater,  on  Tenth  Street,  N.  W.  There 
the  foul  assassin,  J.  Wilkes  Booth,  awaited  his  com- 
ing, and  at  twenty  minutes  past  ten  o'clock,  just  as 
the  third  act  of  "  Our  American  Cousin*"  was  about 
to  commence,  fired  the  shot  that  took  the  life  of 
Abraham  Lincoln.  The  bleeding  President  was 
carried  to  a  house  across  the  street,  No.  516,  where 
he  died  at  twenty-two  minutes  past  seven  the  next 
morning.  The  body  was  taken  to  the  White  House 
and,  after  lying  in  state  in  the  East  Room  and  at  the 
Capitol,  left  Washington  on  the  2 1st  of  April,  stop- 
ping at  various  places  en  route,  and  finally  arriving 
at  Springfield  on  the  3d  of  May.  On  the  following 
day  the  funeral  ceremonies  took  place  at  Oak  Ridge 
Cemetery,  and  there  the  remains  of  the  martyr  were 
left  at  rest. 

Abraham  Lincoln  needs  no  marble  shaft  to  per- 
petuate his  name  ;  his  words  are  the  most  enduring 
monument,  and  will  forever  live  in  the  hearts  of  the 
people. 


PREFACE.  xiii 

I  was  but  a  boy  in  the  political  campaign  of  1860, 
but  had  read  a  campaign  life  of  "Abe"  Lincoln, 
and  became  charmed  with  his  remarkable,  yet  simple, 
life,  and  the  possibilities  of  an  American  boy  rising 
from  such  an  humble  birth  to  the  candidacy  for  the 
Presidency  of  the  United  States.  I  took  an  active* 
part  in  that  campaign,  and  collected  everything  I 
could  pertaining  to  Lincoln,  little  dreaming  that  the 
small  beginning  would  amount  to  much.  But  when 
the  assassin's  bullet  took  the  President's  life,  I  deter- 
mined then  to  spare  no  efforts  to  extend  the  col- 
lection. I  returned  from  the  army  in  1865,  having 
served  from  1861,  and  from  that  time  to  the  present 
day  have  accumulated  nearly  three  thousand  Lin- 
colnian  relics. 

I  lived  ten  years  with  the  collection  in  the  Lin- 
coln Homestead,  Springfield,  111.,  until  it  became 
necessary  to  remove  it  from  that  historic  house  in 
1893,  when  the  Memorial  Association  of  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia  induced  me  to  place  it  in  the  house 
in  which  the  President  died,  that  the  two  might  be 
preserved  together  as  a  Lincoln  Memorial. 

The  building  is  rented  from  a  private  party,  and 
the  expense  of  keeping  the  house  and  collection 
open  to  the  public  is  too  great  for  one  individual,  or 
a  small  association,  to  bear.  Hence  my  object  in 
offering  the  "  Words  of  Lincoln  "  to  the  American 
people  is  to  give  them  an  opportunity  of  preserving 
the  historic  place  in  which  the  martyred  President's 
mortal  career  was  closed. 

OSBORN  H.  OLDROYD. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  1895. 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE  Memorial  Association  of  the  District  of 
Columbia  has  been  organized  for  the  threefold  pur- 
pose : 

1.  Of  preserving  the  most  noteworthy  houses  at 
the  Capital  that  had  been  made  historic  by  the  resi- 
dence of  the  nation's  greatest  men. 

2.  Of  suitably  marking,  by  tablets  or  otherwise, 
the  houses  and  places  throughout  the  city  of  chief 
interest  to  our  own  residents  and  to  the  multitudes 
of  Americans  and  foreigners  that  annually  visit  the 
Capital. 

3.  Of  thus  cultivating  that  historic  spirit  and  that 
reverence    for  the  memories   of  the    founders  and 
leaders  of  the  Republic  upon  which  an  intelligent 
and  abiding  patriotism  so  largely  depends. 

It  has  first  directed  its  efforts  toward  preserving 
the  house,  516  Tenth  Street,  N.  W.,  in  which 
President  Lincoln  died.  It  leased  the  house  to 
save  it  from  demolition,  placed  in  it  the  unique  and 
valuable  collection  of  relics  gathered  and  owned  by 
Captain  O.  H.  Oldroyd,  and  has  for  nearly  two 
years  held  the  property  as  a  museum.  It  is  hoped 
and  expected  that  Congress  will  purchase  the  house 
and  preserve  it  in  perpetuity.  Meanwhile  the  asso- 
ciation and  its  friends  have  contributed  largely  to 


XVI  INTRODUCTION. 

pay  current  expenses.  Now  Captain  Oldroyd  very 
generously  puts  this  volume  at  the  service  of  this 
patriotic  enterprise.  It  contains  the  choicest  utter- 
ances of  Mr.  Lincoln,  so  arranged  and  identified  by 
time  and  place  as  to  be  most  convenient  for  refer- 
ence. We  think  it  should  find  a  wide  welcome 
among  the  American  people,  to  whom  the  memory 
of  this  great  man  is  so  precious. 

MELVILLE  W.  FULLER, 

President. 
TEUNIS  S.  HAMLIN, 

Vice  President. 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C., 

April  25,  1895. 


VALUE  OF  WORDS. 


"  It  is  with  words  as  with  sunbeams — the  more 
they    are    condensed,    the    deeper    they    burn."- 
Southey. 


"  Learn  the  value  of  a  man's  words  and  expres- 
sions, and  you  know  him.  Each  man  has  a  measure 
of  his  own  for  everything.  This  he  offers  you, 
inadvertently,  in  his  words." — Lavator. 


"  Cast  forth  thy  act,  thy  word,  into  the  ever- 
living,  ever-working  universe ;  it  is  a  reed-grain  that 
cannot  die  ;  unnoticed  to-day,  it  will  be  found  flour- 
ishing as  a  banyan  grove,  perhaps,  alas,  as  a  hem- 
lock forest,  after  a  thousand  years." — Carlyle. 


xvii 


WORDS  OP    LINCOLN. 


I    Ml    II  I'M!', I   I 

•V,   tang  ant* 

know    who   '  I    --in    humble    Abraham 

many  f  » become  a  can<J 

Legislature.     M  I 

am  in  favor  of  an-  -r  of 

tective  tariff.    The*e  a 

principle*.    If  elated,  f  shall  be  thatikfu 


'I  MI     MO!  'I     IMPOK1 

ron 


At  N#it  ,'wfr»t.  III..  .1f<*r,fi 
daf€  fvr  the  Lrg 

"  Upon  the  tttbject  erf  education^  not  pr««4tftiinf 

-,    ,     r  t..»f      .   •   ;,-    p  -,-,     r,r     •  y-  f,  tn     r^  •  p/  r  fini;     it       I     '  ..ti 

only  »ay  that  I 

taut  ftybject  which  we,  a»  a  people,  can  be 


2  WORDS  OF   LINCOLN. 

"  That  every  man  may  receive  at  least  a  moderate 
education,  and  thereby  be  enabled  to  read  the  his- 
tories of  his  own  and  other  countries,  by  which  he 
may  duly  appreciate  the  value  of  our  free  institu- 
tions, appears  to  be  an  object  of  vital  importance ; 
even  on  this  account  alone,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
advantages  and  satisfaction  to  be  derived  from  all 
being  able  to  read  the  Scriptures  and  other  works, 
both  of  a  religious  and  moral  nature,  for  themselves. 

"  For  my  part,  I  desire  to  see  the  time  when  edu- 
cation, by  its  means,  morality,  sobriety,  enterprise, 
and  integrity,  shall  become  much  more  gen- 
eral than  at  present,  and  should  be  grati- 
fied to  have  it  in  my  power  to  contribute  some- 
thing to  the  advancement  of  any  measure  which 
might  have  a  tendency  to  accelerate  the  happy 
period. 

"  Every  man  is  said  to  have  his  peculiar  ambition. 
Whether  it  be  true  or  not,  I  can  say,  for  one,  that  I 
have  no  other  so  great  as  that  of  being  truly  es- 
teemed of  my  fellow-men.  How  far  I  shall  succeed 
in  gratifying  this  ambition  is  yet  to  be  developed. 
I  am  young,  and  unknown  to  many  of  you.  I  was 
born,  and  have  ever  remained,  in  the  most  humble 
walks  of  life.  I  have  no  wealthy  popular  relations  or 
friends  to  recommend  me.  My  case  is  thrown  exclu- 
sively upon  the  independent  voters  of  the  county; 
and,  if  elected,  they  will  have  conferred  a  favor 

On  the  day  when  the  flag  of  thy  love  was  to  be  again  raised  on 
Fort  Sumter,  where  it  had  first  been  lowered,  thou  wast  slain.  Not 
for  a  life  unfinished  do  we  mourn,  though  thqu  wast  now  girding 
thyself  for  the  greater  victories  of  peace.  God  saw  the  end.  We 
did  not. — Henry  E.  Butler. 


WORDS  OF  LINCOLN.  3 

upon  me,  for  which  I  shall  be  unremitting  in  my 
labors  to  compensate. 

"  But,  if  the  good    people  in  their  wisdom  shall 
see  fit  to  keep  me  in  the  background,  I  have  been 

too  familiar  with  disappointment  to  be  very 

much  chagrined." 


ANNOUNCES     HIMSELF     A     CANDIDATE 
FOR  THE  LEGISLATURE. 

(Letter  to  the  Sangamon  fournal,  Springfield,  ///.,  fttne 
'J, 


"  I  go  for  all  sharing  the  privileges  of  the  govern- 

ment who  assist  in  bearing  its  burdens,  consequently 

I  go  for  admitting  all  whites   to    the  right 

of  suffrage  who  pay  taxes  or  bear  arms  (by 

no  means  excluding  females). 

"  While  acting  as  their  representative  I  shall  be 
governed  by  their  will  on  all  subjects  upon  which  I 
have  the  means  of  knowing  what  their  will  is,  and 
upon  all  others  I  shall  do  what  my  own  judgment 
teaches  me  will  best  advance  their  interests,  whether 
elected  or  not. 

"  I  go  for  distributing  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of 
public  lands  to  the  several  States,  to  enable  our 
State,  in  common  with  others,  to  dig  canals  and 

When  Abraham  Lincoln  issued  the  Proclamation  of  Freedom  the 
light  of  morning  rose,  higher  and  higher  went  the  sun,  more  and  more 
the  heavens  were  opened  above  us,  and  the  Lord  lifted  up  our  Fourth 
of  July  into  higher  and  yet  higher  glory,  by  giving  us  Gettysburg 
and  Vicksburg  at  one  blast  of  the  trumpet.  —  William  de  Loss  Love. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 


construct  railroads  without   borrowing   money  and 
paying  interest  on  it." 


PROTEST  AGAINST  DOMESTIC  SLAVERY. 

(In  the  Illinois  Legislature  >  March  j,  1837,  in  opposition  to  a 
resolution  on  the  subject?) 

"  They  believe  that  the  institution  of  slavery  is 
founded  on  both  injustice  and  bad  policy  ;  but  that 

g        the    promulgation    of     abolition     doctrines 
tends  rather  to  increase  than  abate  its  evils. 

"  They  believe  that  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  has  no  power,  under  the  Constitution,  to  inter- 
fere with  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  different 
States. 

"  They  believe  that  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  has  the  power,  under  the  Constitution,  to 
abolish  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  but  that 
the  power  ought  not  to  be  exercised,  unless  at  the 
request  of  the  people  of  the  District. 

"  The  difference  between  their  opinions  and  those 
contained  in  the  said  resolutions  is  their  reasons  for 
entering  this  protest. 

[Signed] 

"  DAN  STONE, 
"  A.  LINCOLN. 

"  Representatives  from  Sangamon  Co.,  111." 

He  fell  as  his  thousands  had  fallen  on  the  field  of  battle — sud- 
denly, and  in  the  hour  of  victory.  A  man  from  among  the  people, 
a  man  who  would  have  wept  for  the  poorest  drummer-boy  of  his 
great  army  ! —  7'.  H.  Robinson. 


WORDS  OF  LINCOLN. 


"PERPETUATION  OF  OUR  FREE  INSTI- 
TUTIONS." 

(An  address  delivered  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight,  Springfield, 
III.,  January,  i8j?.) 

"  In  the  great  journal  of  things  happening  under 
the  sun,  we,  the  American  people,  find  our  account 
running  under  date  of  the  nineteenth  century 
of  the  Christian  era. 

"  We  find  ourselves  in  the  peaceful  possession  of 
the  fairest  portion  of  the  earth,  as  regards  extent  of 
territory,  fertility  of  soil,  and  salubrity  of  climate. 

"  We  find  ourselves  under  the  government  of  a 
system  of  political  institutions  conducing  more 
essentially  to  the  ends  of  civil  and  religious  liberty 
than  any  of  which  the  history  of  former  times  tells  us. 

"  We,  when  mounting  the  stage  of  our  existence, 
found  ourselves  the  legal  inheritors  of  these  funda- 
mental blessings. 

"  We  toiled,  not  in  the  acquisition  or  establish- 
ment of  them  :  they  are  a  legacy  bequeathed  us  by 
a  once  hardy,  brave,  and  patriotic,  but  now  lamented 
and  departed  race  of  ancestors. 

"  Theirs  was  the  task  (and  nobly  they  performed 
it)  to  possess  themselves,  and,  through  themselves, 
us,  of  this  goodly  land,  and  to  uprear  upon  its  hills 
and  valleys  a  political  edifice  of  liberty  and  equal 

Coming  generations  will  discover  that  what  he  called  hesitation 
was  wise  discretion  ;  that  amid  our  home  and  foreign  complications 
any  other  policy  would  have  led  to  inevitable  ruin. — AdoniramJ. 
Patterson. 


6  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

rights  ;  'tis  ours  only  to  transmit  these — the  former 
unprofaned  by  the  foot  of  an  invader ;  the  latter 
undecoyed  by  the  lapse  of  time  and  untorn  by 
usurpation,  to  the  latest  generation  that  fate  shall 
permit  the  world  to  know. 

"  This  task,  gratitude  to  our  fathers,  justice  to  our- 
selves, duty  to  posterity — all  imperatively 
require  us  faithfully  to  perform. 

"  How,  then,  shall  we  perform  it  ?  At  what  point 
shall  we  expect  the  approach  of  danger  ?  Shall  we 
expect  some  transatlantic  military  giant  to  step  the 
ocean  and  crush  us  at  a  blow? 

"Never!  All  the  armies  of  Europe,  Asia,  and 
Africa  combined,  with  all  the  treasure  of  the  earth 
(our  own  excepted)  in  their  military  chest,  with 
a  Bonaparte  for  a  commander,  could  not,  by 
force,  take  a  drink  from  the  Ohio,  or  make  a 
track  on  the  Blue  Ridge,  in  a  trial  of  a  thousand 
years. 

"At  what  point,  then,  is  the  approach  of  danger 
to  be  expected?  Answer:  if  it  ever  reaches  us,  it 
must  spring  up  among  us. 

"  It  cannot  come  from  abroad.  If  destruction 
be  our  lot,  we  must  ourselves  be  its  author 
and  finisher.  As  a  nation  of  freeman,  we  must 
live  through  all  time,  or  die  by  suicide." 


The  Easter  would  have  been  celebrated  as  never  before,  amid 
spring  blossoms  of  flowers.  The  air  was  fanned  with  jubilant  flags, 
as  the  winter  had  passed  and  the  time  was  nigh  for  the  singing  of 
birds.  Commerce  flapped  her  long-folded  wings,  and  the  land 
would  laugh  with  industry,  plenty,  and  prosperity.  In  the  twinkle 
of  an  eye  we  were  brought  down  into  the  deepest  affliction. — 
William  Adams. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  7 

"I  SWEAR  ETERNAL    FIDELITY  TO  THE 
JUST  CAUSE." 

{Speech  at  Springfield,  III.,  during  the  Harrison  Presidential 
campaign,  1840.) 

"  Many  free  countries  have  lost  their  liberty,  and 
ours  may  lose  hers ;  but  if  she  shall,  be  it  my 
proudest  plume,  not  that  I  was  last  to  desert, 
but  that  I  never  deserted,  her. 

"  I  know  that  the  great  volcano  at  Washington, 
aroused  and  directed  by  the  evil  spirit  that  reigns 
there,  is  belching  forth  the  lava  of  political  corrup- 
tion in  a  current  broad  and  deep,  which  is  sweeping 
with  frightful  velocity  over  the  whole  length  and 
breadth  of  the  land,  bidding  fair  to  leave  unscathed 
no  green  spot  or  living  thing. 

"  I  cannot  deny  that  all  may  be  swept  away. 
Broken  by  it,  I,  too,  may  be ;  bow  to  it  I  never 
will.  The  possibility  that  we  may  fail  in  the 
struggle  ought  not  to  deter  us  from  the  support  of 
a  cause  which  we  believe  to  be  just.  It  shall  not 
deter  me. 

"  If  ever  I  feel  the  soul  within  me  elevate  and 
expand  to  those  dimensions  not  wholly  unworthy  of 
its  Almighty  Architect,  it  is  when  I  contemplate 
the  cause  of  my  country,  deserted  by  all  the  world 
beside,  and  I  standing  up  boldly,  alone,  and  hurling 
defiance  at  her  victorious  oppressors. 


He  surpassed  all  orators  in  eloquence,  all  diplomatists  in  wisdom, 
all  statesmen  in  foresight,  and  the  most  ambitious  in  fame. — John  J. 
Ingalls. 


8  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

"  Here,  without  contemplating  consequences,  be- 
fore Heaven,  and  in  the  face  of  the  world,  I  swear 
eternal  fidelity  to  the  just  cause,  as  I  deem  it,  of 
the  land  of  my  life,  my  liberty,  and  my  love ;  and 
who  that  thinks  with  me  will  not  fearlessly  adopt 
the  oath  that  I  take  ? 

"  Let  none  falter  who  thinks  he  is  right,  and  we 
may  succeed. 

"  But  if,  after  all,  we  shall  fail,  be  it  so,  we  still 
have  the  proud  consolation  of  saying  to  our  con- 
sciences, and  to  the  departed  shade  of  our 
country's  freedom,  that  the  cause  approved 
of  our  judgment,  and  adorned  of  our  hearts  in 
disaster,  in  chains,  in  death,  we  never  faltered  in 
defending." 


THE   TEMPERANCE   CAUSE. 

{Address    before    the     Washingtonian    Temperance   Society, 
Springfield,   III.,   February    22,   1842.) 

"  The   cause   itself   seems  suddenly  transformed 
from  a  cold  abstract  theory  to  a  living,  breathing, 
active,  and    powerful  chieftain  going  forth 
1  conquering  and  to  conquer.'     The  citadels 
of  his  great  adversary  are  daily  being  stormed  and 
dismantled  ;  his  temples  and  his  altars,  where  the 
rites  of  his  idolatrous  worship  have  long  been  per- 
formed, and  where  human  sacrifices  have  long  been 
wont  to  be  made,  are  daily  desecrated  and  deserted. 

It  appears  to  thoughtful  minds  that  God  called  Abraham  Lincoln 
to  rise  from  the  log  cabin  in  the  wilderness  to  take  the  helm  of  the 
new  American  nation  in  its  crisis  hour. — C.  A.  Payne. 


A.    LINCOLN. 
From  a  sketch  at  the  age  of  thirty-Jive. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  9 

'  The  trump  of  the  conqueror's  fame  is  sounding 
from  hill  to  hill,  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  land  to 
land,  and  calling  millions  to  his  standard  at  a  blast. 

"  When  one  who  has  long  been  known  as  a  vic- 
tim of  intemperance  bursts  the  fetters  that  have 
bound  him,  and  appears  before  his  neigh- 
bors '  clothed  and  in  his  right  mind,'  a 
redeemed  specimen  of  long-lost  humanity,  and 
stands  up,  with  tears  of  joy  trembling  in  his  eyes, 
to  tell  of  the  miseries  once  endured,  now  to  be 
endured  no  more  forever ;  of  his  once  naked  and 
starving  children,  now  clad  and  fed  comfortably ;  of 
a  wife,  long  weighed  down  with  woe,  weeping,  and 
a  broken  heart,  now  restored  to  health,  happiness, 
and  a  renewed  affection  ;  and  how  easily  it  is  all 
done,  once  it  is  resolved  to  be  done — how  simple 
his  language  !  There  is  a  logic  and  ah  eloquence  in 
it  that  few  with  human  feelings  can  resist. 

"  It  is  an  old  and  true  maxim  '  that  a  drop  of 
honey  catches  more  flies  than  a  gallon  of  gall.'  So 
with  men.  If  you  would  win  a  man  to  your  cause, 
first  convince  him  that  you  are  his  sincere  friend. 
Therein  is  a  drop  of  honey  that  catches  his  heart ; 
which,  say  what  he  will,  is  the  great  highroad  to 
his  reason,  and  when  once  gained,  you  will  find  but 
little  trouble  in  convincing  his  judgment  of  the  jus- 
tice of  your  cause,  if,  indeed,  that  cause  really  be  a 
just  one. 

"  On  the  contrary,  assume  to  dictate  to  his  judg- 
ment, or  to  command  his  action,  or  to  mark  him  as 

Mr.  Lincoln's  history  will  be  "of  all  time,"  and  he  will  be 
recalled  as  one  of  the  grandest  figures  of  the  world's  history. — 
Winfield  S.  Hancock. 


10  WORDS  OF  LINCOLN. 

one  to  be  shunned  and  despised,  and  he  will  retreat 
within  himself,  close  all  the  avenues  to  his  head  and 
his  heart,  and  though  your  cause  be  naked  truth 
itself,  transformed  to  the  heaviest  lance,  harder 
than  steel  and  sharper  than  steel  can  be  made,  and 
though  you  throw  it  with  more  than  herculean 
force  and  precision,  you  shall  be  no  more  able  to 
pierce  him  than  to  penetrate  the  hard  shell  of  a 
tortoise  with  a  rye  straw. 

"  Of  our  political  revolution  of  '76  we  are  all 
justly  proud.  It  has  given  us  a  degree  of  political 
freedom  far  exceeding  that  of  any  other 
nation  of  the  earth.  But,  with  all  these 
glorious  results,  past,  present,  and  to  come,  it  had 
its  evils,  too.  It  breathed  forth  famine,  swam  in 
blood,  and  rode  in  fire ;  and  long,  long  after,  the 
orphans'  cry  and  the  widows'  wail  continued  to 
break  the  sad  silence  that  ensued.  These  were  the 
price,  the  inevitable  price,  paid  for  the  bless- 
ings it  brought. 

"  Turn  now  to  the  temperance  resolution.  In  it 
we  shall  find  a  stronger  bondage  broken,  a  viler 
slavery  manumitted,  a  greater  tyrant  deposed — in 
it,  more  of  want  supplied,  more  disease  healed, 
more  sorrow  assuaged.  By  it,  no  orphans  starving, 
no  widows  weeping.  By  it,  none  wounded  in  feel- 
ing, none  injured  in  interest;  even  the  dram-maker 
and  dram-seller  will  have  glided  into  other  occupa- 
tions so  gradually  as  never  to  have  felt  the  change, 

His  career  closed  at  a  moment  when  its  dramatic  unity  was  com- 
plete, and  when  his  departure  from  life  on  earth  was  the  apotheosis, 
the  translation  by  which,  defended  against  all  shocks  and  mishaps  of 
time,  he  passed  on  to  immortality. — -John  A.  Andrew. 


WORDS  OF  LINCOLN.  II 

and  will  stand  ready  to  join  all  others  in  the  univer- 
sal song  of  gladness. 

"  And  what  a  noble  ally  this,  to  the  cause  of  po- 
litical freedom ;  with  such  an  aid,  its  march  cannot 
fail  to  be  on  and  on,  till  every  son  of  earth  shall 
drink  in  rich  fruition  the  sorrow-quenching  draughts 
of  perfect  liberty ! 

"  Happy  day,   when,   all  appetite   controlled,   all 
passions  subdued,  all  matter  subjugated,  mind — all- 
conquering  mind — shall  live  and  move,  the 
monarch  of   the  world  !     Glorious   consum- 
mation!     Hail,  fall   of  fury!     Reign  of  reason,  all 
hail! 

"  And  when  the  victory  shall  be  complete, — when 
there  shall  be  neither  a  slave  nor  a  drunkard  on 
earth, — how  proud  the  title  of  that  land,  which  may 
truly  claim  to  be  the  birthplace  and  the  cradle  of 
both  those  resolutions  that  shall  have  ended  in  that 
victory !  How  nobly  distinguished  that  people, 
who  shall  have  planted,  and  nurtured  to  matur- 
ity, both  the  political  and  moral  freedom  of  their 
species  ! 

"This  is  the  one  hundred  and  tenth  anniversary 
of  the  birthday  of  Washington — we  are  met  to  cele- 
brate this  day. 

"  Washington  is  the  mightiest  name  on  earth — 
long  since  mightiest  in  the  cause  of  civil  liberty, 
still  mightiest  in  moral  reformation. 

"  On  that  name  a  eulogy  is  expected.     It  cannot 

He  had  learned  from  the  holiest  authority  that  God  "hath  made 
of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men,"  and  that  the  immutable  rule  of 
right,  as  between  man  and  man,  is  to  do  unto  others  as  we  would 
that  they  should  do  unto  us. — -Joseph  A.  Seiss. 


12  WORDS  OF   LINCOLN. 

be.  To  add  brightness  to  the  sun,  or  glory  to  the 
name  of  Washington,  is  alike  impossible.  Let  none 
attempt  it. 

"  In  solemn  awe  pronounce  the  name,  and  in  its 
naked,  deathless  splendor,  leave  it  shining  on." 


MESSAGE  TO  HIS  DYING  FATHER. 

{Letter  to  his  brother-in-law,  John  Johnson, 
January  12, 


"  I    sincerely   hope    father   may   yet   recover  his 

health  ;  but,  at  all  events,  tell  him  to  remember  to 

call  upon  and  confide  in  our  great  and  good 

and  merciful  Maker,  who  will  not  turn  away 

from  him  in  any  extremity.     He  notes  the  fall  of  a 

sparrow,  and  numbers  the  hairs  of  our  heads  ;  and 

He  will  not  forget  the   dying   man  who   puts  his 

trust  in  Him. 

"  Say  to  him,  if  we  could  meet  now  it  is  doubtful 
whether  it  would  not  be  more  painful  than  pleasant  ; 
but  that,  if  it  be  his  lot  to  go  now,  he  will  soon  have 
a  joyous  meeting  with  loved  ones  gone  before,  and 
where  the  rest  of  us,  through  the  help  of  God, 
hope  ere  long  to  join  them." 


Lincoln's  deeds  will  live  in  the  household  words  of  an  elevated 
race.  First  in  the  huts  where  the  children  are  taught  to  speak  his 
praise.  Hereafter,  the  children  of  those  children,  in  mansions  built 
by  their  own  skill,  will  weave  his  name  in  poetry,  and,  in  rich  music 
of  their  own,  sing  their  praise  of  their  great  deliverer.—/.  C. 
Bingham. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  13 

REDEMPTION  OF  THE  AFRICAN  RACE. 

(Eulogy  on  the  life  and  character  of  Henry  Clay,  Springfield, 
III.,  July  16,  1852) 

"  This  suggestion  of  the  possible  ultimate  re- 
demption of  the  African  race  and  African  continent 
was  made  twenty-five  years  ago.  Every 
succeeding  year  has  added  strength  to  the 
hope  of  its  realization.  May  it  indeed  be  realized  ! 
Pharaoh's  country  was  cursed  with  plagues,  and  his 
hosts  drowned  in  the  Red  Sea  for  striving  to  retain 
a  captive  people  who  had  already  served  them  more 
than  four  hundred  years.  May  like  disaster  never 
befall  us ! 

"  If,  as  the  friends  of  colonization  hope,  the  pres- 
ent and  coming  generations  of  our  countrymen 
shall,  by  any  means,  succeed  in  freeing  our  land 
from  the  dangerous  presence  of  slavery,  and  at 
the  same  time  restoring  a  captive  people  to  their 
long-lost  fatherland,  with  bright  prospects  for 
the  future,  and  this,  too,  so  gradually  that  neither 
races  nor  individuals  shall  have  suffered  by  the 
change,  it  will,  indeed,  be  a  glorious  consummation. 

"  And  if  to  such  a  consummation  the  efforts  of 
Mr.  Clay  shall  have  contributed,  it  will  be  what  he 
most  ardently  wished  ;  and  none  of  his  labors  will 
have  been  more  valuable  to  his  country  and  his 
kind." 

He  was  not  carried  away  by  the  excitement  by  which  he  was  sur- 
rounded. He  possessed  in  a  remarkable  degree  not  only  self-control, 
but  sound  common  sense,  which  is  often  worth  far  more  than  bril- 
liant talents  and  great  learning. — N.  L.  Rice. 


14  WORDS  OF   LINCOLN. 

VTHE  INJUSTICE  OF  SLAVERY. 
(Speech  at  Peorta,  III.,  October  16, 1854.) 

/This  declared  indifference^ut,  as  I  must  think, 
covert  zeal,  for  the  spread  of  slavery,  I  cannot  but 
hate.  I  hate  it  because  of  the  monstrous 
injustice  of  slavery  itself  ;  I  hate  it  because 
it  deprives  our  republic  of  an  example  of  its  just 
influence  in  the  world;  enables  the  enemies  of  free 
institutions  with  plausibility  to  taunt  us  as  hyp- 
ocrites ;  causes  the  real  friends  of  freedom  to  doubt 
our  sincerity  ;  and,  especially,  because  it  forces  so 
many  really  good  men  among  ourselves  into  an 
open  war  with  the  very  fundamental  principles  of 
civil  liberty,  criticising  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence and  insisting  that  there  is  no  right  prin- 
ciple of  action  but  self-interest.^  >  , 

"  The  doctrine  of  self-government  is  right, — abso- 
lutely and  eternally  right, — but  it  has  no  just  appli- 
cation, as  here  attempted.  Or,  perhaps,  I  should 
rather  say,  that  whether  it  has  such  just  application 
depends  upon  whether  a  negro  is  not,  or  is,  a  man. 
If  he  is  not  a  man,  in  that  case  he  who  is  a  man  may, 
as  a  matter  of  self-government,  do  just  what  he 
pleases  with  him.  But  if  the  negro  is  a  man,  is  it 
not  to  that  extent  a  total  destruction  of  self-govern- 
ment to  say  that  he,  too,  shall  not  govern  himself  ? 

"When  the  white  man   governs  himself  that  is 

Having  determined  upon  the  profession  of  law,  he  fenced  in  his 
mind  to  book  study  with  the  same  energy  and  resolution  with  which 
he  had  split  three  thousand  rails  to  fence  in  the  field  around  his 
father's  home.— Joseph  P.  Thompson. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  15 

"self-government ;  but  when  he  governs  himself,  and 
also  governs  another  man,  that  is  more  than  self- 
government — that  is  despotism. 

<*What  I  do  say  is,  that  no  man  is  good  enough 
to  govern  another  man  without  that  other's  consent. 

"  The  master  not  only  governs  the  slave  without 
his  consent,  but  he  governs  him  by  a  set  of  rules 
altogether  different    from    those   which    he 
prescribes  for  himself.     Allow  all   the  gov- 
erned an  equal  voice  in  the  government ;    that,  and 
that  only,  is  self-government^?- 

"  Slavery  is  founded  in  tfre  selfishness  of  man's 
nature — opposition  to  it,  in  his  love  of  justice. 
These  principles  are  an  eternal  antagonism  ;  and 
when  brought  into  collision  so  fiercely  as  slavery 
extension  brings  them,  shocks  and  throes  and  con- 
vulsions must  ceaselessly  follow. 

"  Repeal  the  Missouri  Compromise — repeal  all 
compromise — and  repeal  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence—repeal all  past  history — still  you  cannot 
repeal  human  nature. 

"  I  particularly  object  to  the  new  position  which 
the  avowed  principles  of  the  Nebraska  law  gives  to 
slavery  in  the  body  politic.  I-  object  to  it,  because 
it  assumes  that  there  can  be  moral  right  in  the 
enslaving  of  one  man  by  another.  I  object  to  it  as 
a  dangerous  dalliance  for  a  free  people, — a  sad  evi- 
dence that  feeling  prosperity,  we  forget  right, — that 
liberty  as  a  principle  we  have  ceased  to  revere. 


"With  malice  toward  none"  was  his  dying  charge.  It  sounds 
strangely  like  the  last  words  of  Him  who,  when  dying  on  the  cross, 
looked  down  upon  his  murderers  and  prayed  :  "  Father,  forgive 
them,  they  know  not  what  they  do." — Daniel  C,  Eddy. 


1 6  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

"  Little  by  little,  but  steadily  as  man's  march  to 

the  grave,  we  have  been  giving  up  the  old  for  the 

new  faith.     Near  eighty  years  ago  we  began 

by  declaring  that  all  men  are  created  equal ; 

but  now  from  that  beginning  we  have  run  down  to 

the  other  declaration  that  for  some  men  to  enslave 

others  is  a  'sacred  right  of  self-government.'     These 

principles    cannot    stand    together.      They  are   as 

opposite  as  God  and  Mammon. 

"  Our  republican  robe  is  soiled  and  trailed  in  the 
dust.  Let  us  purify  it.  Let  us  turn  and  wash  it 
white,  in  the  spirit,  if  not  in  the  blood,  of  the  Revo- 
lution. 

"  Let  us  turn  slavery  from  its  claims  of  '  moral 
right '  back  upon  its  existing  legal  rights,  and  its 
arguments  of  *  necessity.'  Let  us  return  it  to  the 
position  our  fathers  gave  it,  and  there  let  it  rest  in 
peace. 

"  Let  us  re-adopt  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
and  the  practices  and  policy  which  harmonize  with 
it.  Let  North  and  South — let  all  Americans — let 
all  lovers  of  liberty  everywhere,  join  in  the  great 
and  good  work. 

"  If  we  do  this,  we'shall  not  only  have  saved  the 
Union,  but  shall  have  so  saved  it,  as  to  make  and  to 
keep  it  forever  worthy  of  saving.  We  shall  have  so 
saved  it  that  the  succeeding  millions  of  free,  happy 
people,  the  world  over,  shall  rise  up  and  call  us 
blessed  to  the  latest  generations." 

Fostered  and  stimulated  only  by  the  genius  of  that  government 
under  which  he  lived,  he  attained  by  his  own  efforts  to  such  a  stately 
height  that  the  nation  caught  him  up  as  the  tallest  of  her  children, 
and  lifted  him  to  her  head. — -John  C.  Thompson. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  1 7 

"THE    ONE    RETROGRADE    INSTITUTION 
IN  AMERICA." 

(Reply  to  Stephen  A,  Douglas,  on  the  Kansas  and  Nebraska 
Bill,  Springfield,  III,  October  4,  1854.} 

"  Be  not  deceived.  The  spirit  of  the  Revolution 
and  the  spirit  of  Nebraska  are  antipodes ;  and  the 
former  is  being  rapidly  displaced  by  the 
latter.  Shall  we  make  no  effort  to  arrest 
this?  Already  the  liberal  party  throughout  the 
world  express  the  apprehension  '  that  the  one 
retrograde  institution  in  America  is  undermining 
the  principles  of  progress,  and  fatally  violating  the 
noblest  political  system  the  world  ever  saw.'  This 
is  not  the  taunt  of  enemies,  but  the  warning  of 
friends.  Is  it  quite  safe  to  disregard  it — to  dis- 
parage it  ?  Is  there  no  danger  to  liberty  itself  in 
discarding  the  earliest  practice,  and  first  precept  of 
our  ancient  faith  ? 

"  In  our  greedy  haste  to  make  profit  of  the  negro, 
let  us  beware  lest  we  cancel  and  rend  in  pieces  even 
the  white  man's  character  of  freedom. 

"  My  distinguished  friend,  Douglas,  says  it  is  an 
insult  to  the  emigrant  to  Kansas  and  Nebraska  to 
suppose  they  are  not  able  to  govern  themselves. 
We  must  not  slur  over  an  argument  of  this  kind 
because  it  happens  to  tickle  the  ear.  It  must  be 
met  and  answered. 

A  poor,  plain,  simple,  honest,  laborious,  American  life,  with  learn- 
ing drained  chiefly  from  nature,  made  him  healthy,  strong,  self-reli- 
ant, calm,  true,  honest,  brave,  diligent,  and  developed  all  the  true 
manlier  qualities. — Charles  M.  Ellis. 


1 8  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

"  I  admit  the  emigrant  to  Kansas  and  Nebraska 
is  competent  to  govern  himself,  but,  /  deny  his  right 
to  govern  any  other  person  without  that  person  s 
consent." 


HOPELESS  PEACEFUL  EMANCIPATION 
OF  THE  SLAVE. 

(Letter  to  Hon.  Geo.  Robertson*  Lexington,  Ky., 
Augttst  ij,  /c?jj.) 

"  So  far  as  peaceful  voluntary  emancipation  is 
concerned,  the  condition  of  the  negro  slave  in 
America,  scarcely  less  terrible  to  the  con- 
templation of  a  free  mind,  is  now  as  fixed 
and  hopeless  of  change  for  the  better  as  that  of  the 
lost  souls  of  the  finally  impenitent. 

"  The  Autocrat  of  all  the  Russias  will  resign  his 
crown,  and  proclaim  his  subjects  free  republicans, 
sooner  than  will  our  American  masters  voluntarily 
give  up  their  slaves. 

"  Our  political  problem  now  is,  Can  we  as  a 
nation  continue  together  permanently — forever- 
half  slave  and  half  free  ?  The  problem  is  too 
mighty  for  me.  May  God  in  his  mercy  superin- 
tend the  solution ! " 

*  "  Abraham  Lincoln — A  His^pry,"  Nicolay  and  Hay,  1890. 


He  grasped  the  reins  for  that  perilous  career  on  which  he  had  been 
driven,  and,  to  the  admiration  of  the  world,  he  held  them  till  the 
assassin's  bullet  struck  them  loose,  just  as  he  was  wheeling  the  nation 
through  the  gates  of  victory  into  the  morning  light  of  peace.— -James 
A,  McCauley. 


WORDS  OF   LINCOLN.  19 


"ALL  MEN  ARE  CREATED  EQUAL." 

{Speech  at  the  Republican  banquet,  Chicago,   III.,  December 
10,  1856,  after  the  Presidential  campaign^) 

"  Our  government  rests  in  public  opinion.  Who- 
ever can  change  public  opinion  can  change  the 
government  practically  just  so  much.  Public 
opinion,  on  any  subject,  always  has  a  '  cen- 
tral idea,'  from  which  all  its  minor  thoughts  radiate. 
That  '  central  idea  '  in  our  political  public  opinion 
at  the  beginning  was,  and  until  recently  has  con- 
tinued to  be,  *  the  equality  of  man.'  And  although 
it  has  always  submitted  patiently  to  whatever  of 
inequality  there  seemed  to  be  as  matter  of  actual 
necessity,  its  constant  working  has  been  a  steady 
progress  toward  the  practical  equality  of  all  men. 

"  Let  everyone  who  really  believes,  and  is  re- 
solved, that  free  society  is  not  and  shall  not  be  a 
failure,  and  who  can  conscientiously  declare  that  in 
the  past  contest  he  has  done  only  what  he  thought 
best,  let  eveiy  such  one  have  charity  to  believe  that 
every  other  one  can  say  as  much. 

"  Thus  let  bygones  be  bygones;  let  party  differ- 
ences as  nothing  be ;  and  with  steady  eye  on  the 
real  issue,  let  us  reinaugurate  the  good  old  '  central 
ideas  '  of  the  republic.  We  can  do  it.  The  human 
heart  is  with  us ;  God  is  with  us. 

The  four  years  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  administrative  life  have  put  upon 
American  annals  a  record  of  events,  wrought  out  under  his  super- 
vision, which  are  unrivaled  in  the  brilliancy  of  their  character  and 
results  by  any  that  have  appeared  upon  the  historic  page. — James  Af. 
Ludlow. 


20  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

"  We  shall  again  be  able  not  to  declare  that  '  all 

States  as  States  are  equal/  nor  yet  that  '  all  citizens 

as   citizens   are    equal,'  but    to    renew    the 

broader,    better  declaration,  including  both 

these  and  much  more,   that  '  all  men  are  created 

equal.'  " 


SPEECH  ON  THE  DRED  SCOTT  DECISION. 

(Delivered at  Springfield,  III.,  June  26,  1857.} 

"  The  Chief  Justice  does  not  directly  assert,  but 
plainly  assumes  as  a  fact,  that  the  public  estimate 
of  the  black  man  is  more  favorable  now 
than  it  was  in  the  days  of  the  Revolution. 

"  In  those  days,  by  common  consent,  the  spread 
of  the  black  man's  bondage  to  the  new  countries 
was  prohibited ;  but  now  Congress  decides  that  it 
will  not  continue  the  prohibition,  and  the  Supreme 
Court  decides  that  it  could  not  if  it  would. 

"  In  those  days,  our  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  held  sacred  by  all,  and  thought  to  include 
all ;  but  now,  to  aid  in  making  the  bondage  of  the 
negro  universal  and  eternal,  it  is  assailed  and 
sneered  at,  and  constructed  and  hawked  at,  and 
torn,  till,  if  its  framers  could  rise  from  their  graves, 
they  could  not  at  all  recognize  it. 

"  All  the  powers  of  earth  seem  rapidly  combining 
against  him  ;  Mammon  is  after  him,  ambition  fol- 
lows, philosophy  follows,  and  the  theology  of  the 

He  showed  himself  more  and  more  equal  to  duty  as  year  after 
year  laid  on  him  ever  fresh  burdens.  God-given  and  God-led  and 
sustained,  we  must  ever  believe  him. —  Wendell  Phillips. 


WORDS   OF   LIN7COLN.  21 

day  is  fast  joining  the  cry.  They  have  him  in  his 
prison  house,  they  have  searched  his  person  and 
left  no  prying  instrument  with  him.  One  after 
another  they  have  closed  the  heavy  iron  doors  upon 
him ;  and  now  they  have  him,  as  it  were,  bolted  in 
with  a  lock  of  a  hundred  keys,  which  can  never  be 
unlocked  without  the  concurrence  of  every  key ; 
the  keys  in  the  hands  of  a  hundred  different  men, 
and  they  scattered  to  a  hundred  different  and  dis- 
tant places,  and  they  stand  musing  as  to  what  in- 
vention, in  all  the  dominions  of  mind  and  matter, 
can  be  produced  to  make  the  impossibility  of  his 
escape  more  complete  than  it  is." 


"A  HOUSE  DIVIDED  AGAINST  ITSELF 
CANNOT  STAND." 

(The  following  speech — afterward  severely  criticised  by  many 
of  the  author's  own  friends — was  delivered  by  Mr.  Lin- 
coln at  Springfield,  III.,  June  17,  1858,  at  the  close  of  the 
Republican  State  Convention,  which  nominated  him  for 
the  United  States  Senate.} 

"  If  we  could  first  know  where  we  are,  and  whither 

we  are  tending,  we  could  better  judge  what  to  do 

and  how  to   do    it.     We  are   now  far  into 

the  fifth  year   since  a  policy   was  initiated 

with  the  avowed  object,  and  confident  promise,  of 


He  had  been  vigilant,  untiring,  zealous  only  for  his  country  and 
the  rights  and  liberties  of  his'  countrymen,  and  their  children  and 
children's  children  to  the  latest  generation. — Sidney  Dean. 


22  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

putting  an  end  to  slavery  agitation.  Under  the 
operation  of  that  policy  that  agitation  has  not  only 
not  ceased,  but  has  constantly  augmented. 

"  In  my  opinion,  it  will  not  cease  until  a  crisis 
shall  have  been  reached  and  passed. 

U'A  house  divided  against   itself  cannot  stand.' 
I  believe    this    government    cannot  endure    perma- 
nently half   slave  and  half  free.     I  do  not 
expect  the  Union  to  be  dissolved ;  I  do  not 
expect    the  house  to   fall ;  but   I   do  expect  it  will 
cease  to  be  divided.     It  will  become  all  one  thing, 
or  all  the  other. 

"  Either  the  opponents  of  slavery  will  arrest  the 
further  spread  of  it,  and  place  it  where  the  public 
mind  shall  rest  in  the  belief  that  it  is  in  the  course 
of  ultimate  extinction  ;  or  its  advocates  will  push 
it  forward,  till  it  shall  become  alike  lawful  in  all 
the  States — old  as  well  as  new,  North  as  well  as 
South. 

"  Our  cause,  then,  must  be  intrusted  to,  and  con- 
ducted by,  its  own  undoubted  friends — those  whose 
hands  are  free,  whose  hearts  are  in  the  work — who 
do  care  for  the  result. 

"  The  result  is  not  doubtful.  We  shall  not  fail— 
if  we  stand  firm,  we  shall  not  fail.  Wise  counsels 
may  accelerate,  or  mistakes  delay  it,  but,  sooner,  or 
later,  the  victory  is  sure  to  come." 


That  plain,  good  man,  who,  with  life's  parting  tone, 
Breathed  charity  for  all,  and  malice  toward  none, 
So  kind,  so  truthful,  modest,  and  sincere, 
Prompt  to  forgive  the  injury  and  the  sneer. 

— Isaac  McLellan. 


WORDS  OF  LINCOLN.  23 

THE  ELECTRIC  CORD  IN  THE  DECLARA- 
TION OF  INDEPENDENCE. 

(Reply  to  Senator  Douglas,  Chicago,  III.,  July  10, 1858.) 

"'We  holds  these  truths  to  be   self-evident,  that 

all  men  are  created  equal;  that  they  are  endowed 

by   their   Creator    with    certain    inalienable 

T  Q  r  Q  -/ 

rights ;  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty, 
and  the  pursuit  of  happiness ;  that  to  secure  these 
rights,  governments  are  instituted  among  men, 
deriving  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the 
governed.'  There  is  the  origin  of  Popular  Sov- 
ereignty. Who,  then,  shall  come  in  at  this  day  and 
claim  that  he  invented  it? 

"  I  am  not  master  of  language;  I  have  not  a  fine 
education ;  I  am  not  capable  of  entering  into  a 
disquistion  upon  dialectics,  as  I  believe  you  call  it ; 
but  I  do  not  believe  the  language  I  employed  bears 
any  such  construction  as  Judge  Douglas  puts  upon 
it.  I  have  said  a  hundred  times,  and  I  have  now 
no  inclination  to  take  it  back,  that  I  believe  there  is 
no  right,  and  ought  to  be  no  inclination,  in  the  peo- 
ple of  the  free  States  to  enter  into  the  slave  States 
and  interefere  with  the  question  of  slavery  at  all. 

"We  find  a  race  of  men  living  in  that  day  whom 
we  claim  as  our  fathers  and  grandfathers;  they 
were  iron  men ;  they  fought  for  the  principle  that 
they  were  contending  for;  and  we  understood  that 
by  what  they  then  did  it  has  followed  that  the 

His  wisdom,   his  accurate  perceptions,  his  vigor  of   intellect,  his 
»      humor  and   his  unselfish  patriotism,  endeared  him  to  the  people. — 
Cyrus  Northrop. 


24  WORDS   OF  LINCOLN. 

degree  of  prosperity  which  we  now  enjoy  has  come 
to  us. 

"We  hold  this  annual  celebration  (4th  of  July) 
to  remind  ourselves  of  all  the  good  done  in  this 
process  of  time,  of  how  it  was  done,  and 
who  did  it,  and  how  we  are  historically  con- 
nected with  it;  and  we  go  from  these  meetings  in 
better  humor  with  ourselves — we  feel  more  attached 
the  one  to  the  other,  and  more  firmly  bound  to  the 
country  we  inhabit. 

"  In  every  way  we  are  better  men  in  the  age,  and 
race,  and  country  in  which  we  live,  for  these  cele- 
brations. But  after  we  have  done  all  of  this  we 
have  not  yet  reached  the  whole.  There  is  some- 
thing else  connected  with  it. 

"  We  have  besides  these,  men — descended  by 
blood  from  our  ancestors — among  us,  perhaps  half 
our  people,  who  are  not  descendants  at  all  of  these 
men  ;  they  are  men  who  have  come  from  Europe — 
German,  Irish,  French,  and  Scandinavian — men  that 
have  come  from  Europe  themselves,  or  whose  an- 
cestors have  come  hither  and  settled  here,  finding 
themselves  our  equals  in  all  things. 

"  If  they  look  back  through  this  history  to  trace 
their  connection  with  those  days  by  blood,  they 
find  they  have  none — they  cannot  carry  them- 
selves back  into  that  glorious  epoch  and  make 
themselves  feel  that  they  are  part  of  us.  But 
when  they  look  through  that  old  Declaration  of 

Never,  amid  the  utmost  fury  of  the  storm  that  was  beating  around 
him,  did  his  composure  desert  him  ;  he  had  his  work  to  do,  and  he 
meant  to  do  it.  His  cheerfulness  relieved  the  burden  of  duty  and 
the  gloom  of  his  friends. — Edward  C.  Slater. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  25 

Independence,  they  find  that  those  old  men  say 
that  *  We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that 
all  men  are  created  equal/  and  then  they  feel  that 
that  moral  sentiment  taught  in  that  day  evidences 
their  relation  to  those  men  ;  that  it  is  the  father  of 
all  moral  principal  in  them,  and  that  they  have  a 
right  to  claim  it  as  though  they  were  blood  of  the 
blood,  and  flesh  of  the  flesh,  of  the  men  who  wrote 
that  Declaration  ;  and  so  they  are. 

"  That  is  the  electric  cord  in  the  Declaration  that 
links  the  hearts  of  patriotic  and  liberty-loving  men 
together;  that  will  link  those  patriotic  hearts  as 
long  as  the  love  of  freedom  exists  in  the  mind  of 
men  throughout  the  world. 

"  My  friend  has  said  to  me  that  I  am  a  poor  hand 

to  quote  Scripture  ;  I  will  try  it  again,  however.     It  is 

said  in  one  of  the  admonitions  of  our  Lord, 

jgrg  » 

'As  your  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect,  be  ye 
also  perfect.'  The  Saviour,  I  suppose,  did  not  expect 
that  any  human  creature  could  be  perfect  as  the 
Father  in  heaven  ;  but  he  said,  '  As  your  Father 
in  heaven  is  perfect,  be  ye  also  perfect.'  He  set 
that  up  as  a  standard,  and  he  who  did  most  toward 
reaching  that  standard,  attained  the  highest  degree 
of  moral  perfection. 

"  So  I  say  in  relation  to  the  principle  that  all  men 
are  created  equal,  let  it  be  as  nearly  reached  as  we 
can.  If  we  cannot  give  freedom  to  every  creature, 

No  other  President  of  this  nation  had  been  subjected  to  a  trial  such 
as  his.  He  was  a  man  lost  in  a  wilderness,  where  there  was  no 
visible  road  for  escape,  and  we  complained  of  him  because  he  tried 
honestly  to  make  the  best  road  he  could  to  get  out  at  all. — R.  J. 
Keeling, 


26  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

let  us  do  nothing  that  will  impose  slavery  upon  any 
other  creature. 

"  I  leave  you,  hoping  that  the  lamp  of  liberty 
will  burn  in  your  bosoms  until  there  shall  no  longer 
be  a  doubt  that  all  men  are  created  free  and  equal." 


DISADVANTAGES  THE  REPUBLICANS 
LABOR  UNDER. 

(Speech  at  Springfield,  III.,  July  77,  1858) 

"  Senator  Douglas  is  of.  world-wide  renown.     All 

the   anxious   politicians  of  his  party,  or  who  have 

been  of  his  party  for  years  past,  have  been 

looking  upon  him  as  certainly,  at  no  distant 

day,    to   be    the    President    of    the    United    States. 

They  have   seen   in   his   round,  jolly,  fruitful   face, 

post  offices,  land  offices,  marshalships,  and  cabinet 

appointments,    chargeships,   and    foreign    missions, 

bursting  and  sprouting  out  in  wonderful  exuberance, 

ready  to  be  laid  hold  of  by  their  greedy  hands. 

"  And  as  they  have  been  gazing  upon  this  attract- 
ive picture  so  long,  they  cannot,  in  the  little  dis- 
traction that  has  taken  place  in  the  party,  bring 
themselves  to  give  up  the  charming  hope ;  but  with 
greedier  anxiety  they  rush  about  him,  sustain  him, 
and  give  him  marches,  triumphal  entries,  and  recep- 
tions beyond  what,  even  in  the  days  of  his  highest 
prosperty,  they  could  have  brought  about  in  his 
favor. 

"  On  the  contrary,  nobody  has  ever  expected  me 

May  his  kindly  words  ever  re-echo  in  our  hearts,  and  incite  us  to 
godliness  and  truth. — S.  Montis . 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  2? 

to  be  President.  In  my  poor,  lean,  lank  face,  no- 
body has  ever  seen  that  any  cabbages  were 
sprouting  out.  These  are  disadvantages,  all 
taken  together,  that  the  Republicans  labor  under. 
We  have  to  fight  this  battle  upon  principle,  and 
upon  principle  alone. 

"  I  am,  in  a  certain  sense,  made  the  standard- 
bearer  in  behalf  of  the  Republicans.  I  was  made  so 
merely  because  there  had  to  be  someone  so  placed, 
I  being  no  wise  preferable  to  any  other  one  of  the 
twenty-five — perhaps  a  hundred—we  have  in  the 
Republican  ranks. 

"  Then,  I  say  I  wish  it  to  be  distinctly  understood 
and  borne  in  mind  that  we  have  to  fight  this  battle 
withouc  many — perhaps  without  any — of  the  ex- 
ternal aids  which  are  brought  to  bear  against  us. 
So  I  hope  those  with  whom  I  am  surrounded  have 
principle  enough  to  nerve  themselves  for  the  task, 
and  le&ve  nothing  undone  that  can  be  fairly  done, 
to  bring  about  the  right  result." 


"THIS  NATION  CANNOT  LIVE  ON 
INJUSTICE." 

(Remarks  defending  his  speech,  June  77  .•  "A  House  Divided 
Against  Itself"  etc.) 

"  Friends,   I   have    thought  about    this    matter  a 

great  deal,  have  weighed  the  question  well  from  all 

corners,  and  am    thoroughly  convinced  the 

time  has  come  when  it  should  be  uttered  ; 


He  was  a  spotless  apostle  of  human  liberty. — Parke  Godwin. 


28  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

and  if  it  must  be  that  I  must  go  down  because  of 
this  speech,  then  let  me  go  down  linked  to  truth  — 
die  in  the  advocacy  of  what  is  right  and  just. 

"This  nation  cannot  live  on  injustice.  'A  house 
divided  against  itself  cannot  stand/  I  say  again  and 
again." 

WOULD   LEAVE    IT  TO    THE   WORLD 
UNERASED. 

When  Dr.  Long  said  to  his  friend,  "  Well,  Lincoln, 
that  foolish  speech  will  kill  you — will  defeat  you 
for  all  offices  for  all  time  to  come,"  referring  to  the 
"  House  Divided  "  speech,  Mr.  Lincoln  replied  : 

"If  I  had    to    draw  a  pen  across  and  erase   my 

whole  life  from  existence,  and  I  had  one  poor  gift 

or  choice  left,  as  to  what  I  should  save  from 

1858  the  wreck,  I  should  choose  that  speech,  and 
leave  it  to  the  world  unerased." 


"WISEST  THING  I  EVER  DID." 

(Reply  to  friends   at  Bloomington,   III.,   in   regard  to    the 
"House   Divided"   speech?) 

"  You  may  think  that  speech  was  a  mistake  ;  but  I 
never  have  believed  it  was,  and  you  will  see  the  day 

when  you  will  consider  it  the  wisest  thing 
1858     T  >.,, 

I  ever  did. 

He  was  too  good  a  man  himself  to  be  very  suspicious  of  others,  and 
he  was  too  much  engrossed  in  his  cares  for  his  country  to  have  much 
thought  for  his  personal  safety. —  Thomas  Chase. 


LINCOLN. 


Photo,  1860,  by  Hesler. 


WORDS   OF    LINCOLN.  29 

LINCOLN    AND   DOUGLAS    JOINT 
DEBATE. 

(First  joint  debate,  Ottawa,  III,,  August  21,  1858.} 

"  I  have  no  purpose,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  in- 
terfere with  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  State 
where  it  exists.  I  believe  I  have  no  law- 
ful right  to  do  so,  and  I  have  no  inclination 
do  so.  I  agree  with  Judge  Douglas:  he  [the  negro] 
is  not  my  equal  in  many  respects — certainly  not 
in  color ;  perhaps  not  in  moral  or  intellectual  en- 
dowment. But  in  the  right  to  eat  the  bread- 
without  the  leave  of  anybody  else — which  his 
own  hand  earns,  he  is  my  equal,  and  the  equal  of 
Judge  Douglas,  and  the  equal  of  every  living  man. 

"  I  think,  and  shall  try  to  show,  that  it  is  wrong, 
wrong  in  its  direct  effect,  letting  slavery  into  Kansas 
and  Nebraska — and  wrong  in  its  prospective  prin- 
ciple, allowing  it  to  spread  to  every  other  part 
of  the  wide  world,  where  men  can  be  found 
inclined  to  take  it. 

"  I  have  no  prejudice  against  the  Southern  peo- 
ple. They  are  just  what  we  would  be  in  their 
situation.  If  slavery  did  not  now  exist  among 
them,  they  would  not  introduce  it.  If  it  did  now 
exist  among  us,  we  should  not  instantly  give  it  up. 
This  I  believe  of  the  masses  North  and  South. 
Doubtless  there  are  individuals  on  both  sides  who 


High  above  his  obelisk  a  new  star  to  which  history  will  point  as 
the  symbol  of  loyalty  to  God,  to  moral  ideas,  and  to  humanity. — 
Nervton  Bateman. 


30  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

would  not  hold  slaves  under  any  circumstances  ;  and 
others  who  would  gladly  introduce  slavery  anew,  if 
it  were  out  of  existence. 

"When  Southern  people  tell  us  they  are  no  more 
responsible  for  the  origin  of  slavery  than  we,  I  ac- 
knowledge the  fact.  When  it  is  said  that 
the  institution  exists,  and  that  it  is  very 
difficult  to  get  rid  of  it  in  any  satisfactory  way,  I 
can  understand  and  appreciate  the  saying.  I  surely 
will  not  blame  them  for  not  doing  what  I  should 
not  know  how  to  do  myself.  If  all  earthly  power 
were  given  me,  I  should  not  know  what  to  do,  as  to 
the  existing  institution. 

"  With  public  sentiment,  nothing  can  fail ;  with- 
out it,  nothing  can  succeed.  Consequently,  he  who 
molds  public  sentiment  goes  deeper  than  he  who 
enacts  statutes  or  pronounces  decisions.  He  makes 
statutes  and  decisions  possible  or  impossible  to  be 
executed." 


(Second joint  debate,  Freeport,  III.,  August  27,  1858.} 

Answers  to  the  seven  questions  propounded  by 
Mr.  Douglas : 

"  I  do  not  now,  nor  ever  did,  stand  in  favor  of 
the  unconditional  repeal  of  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law. 

"  I  do  not  now,  nor  ever  did,  stand  pledged  against 
the  admission  of  any  more  slave  States  into  the 
Union. 

In  Mr.  Lincoln's  history  there  is  as  much  profound  stimulus  to  the 
young  men  of  the  country  who  desire  to  secure  it,  as  in  that  of  any 
man  who  has  figured  in  our  annals. — A.  H.  Garland. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  31 

"  I  do  not  stand  pledged  against  the  admission  of 
a  new  State  into  the  Union,  with  such  a  constitu- 
tion as  the  people  of  that  State  may  see  fit  to  make. 

"  I  do  not  stand  to-day  pledged  to  the  abolition 
of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 

"  I  do  not  stand  pledged  to  the  prohibition  of 
the  slave  trade  between  the  different  States. 

"  I  am  impliedly,  if  not  expressly,  pledged  to  a 
belief  in  the  right  and  duty  of  Congress  to  prohibit 
slavery  in  all  the  United  States  Territories. 

"  I  am  not  generally  opposed  to  honest  acquisi- 
tion of  territory ;  and,  in  any  given  case,  I  would 
or  would  not  oppose  such  acquisition,  ac- 
cordingly, as  I  might  think  such  acquisition 
would  or  would  not  aggravate  the  slavery  question 
among  ourselves." 


{Third  joint  debate,  Jonesboro,  III.,  September  75,  1858.) 

"  I  say,  in  the  way  our  fathers  originally  left  the 
slavery  question,  the  institution  was  in  the  course 

of  ultimate  extinction,  and  the  public   mind 
18^8 

rested  in  the  belief  that  it  was  in  the  course 

of  ultimate  extinction.  I  say,  when  this  Govern- 
ment was  first  established,  it  was  the  policy  of  its 
founders  to  prohibit  the  spread  of  slavery  into  the 
new  Territories  of  the  United  States,  where  it  had 
not  existed. 

"  All  I  have  asked  or  desired  anywhere,  is  that 
it  should  be  placed  back  again  upon  the  basis 

We  seem  to  have  agreed  to  place  him  upon  a  pedestal  where  no 
other  feet  shall  ever  be  suffered  to  stand — an  altitude  of  worth  and 
greatness  where  none  may  approach  and  rival  him. —  Wm.  Irvin. 


32  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

that  the  fathers  of  our  Government  originally 
placed  it  upon.  I  have  no  doubt  that  it  would 
become  extinct  for  all  time  to  come,  if  we  but 
re-adopt  the  policy  of  the  fathers  by  restricting  it 
to  the  limits  it  has  already  covered — restricting  it 
from  the  new  Territories." 


(Fourth  joint  debate,  Charleston,  III.,  September  18,  1858.} 

"  I  have  always  wanted  to  deal  with  everyone  I 
meet  candidly  and  honestly.  If  I  have  made  any 
assertion  not  warranted  by  facts,  and  it  is 
pointed  out  to  me,  I  will  withdraw  it 
cheerfully. 

"  The  Nebraska-Kansas  bill  was  introduced  four 
years  and  a  half  ago,  and  if  the  agitation  is  ever 
to  come  to  an  end,  we  may  say  we  are  four  years 
and  a  half  nearer  the  end.  So,  too,  we  can  say 
we  are  four  years  and  a  half  nearer  the  end  of  the 
world ;  and  we  can  just  as  clearly  see  the  end  of 
the  world  as  we  can  see  the  end  of  this  agitation. 

"  If  Kansas  should  sink  to-day,  and  leave  a  great 
vacant  space  in  the  earth's  surface,  this  vexed  ques- 
tion would  still  be  among  us.  I  say,  then,  there  is 
no  way  of  putting  an  end  to  the  slavery  agitation 
amongst  us  but  to  put  it  back  upon  the  basis  where 
our  fathers  placed  it,  no  way  but  to  keep  it  out  of 
our  new  Territories — to  restrict  it  forever  to  the  old 
States  where  it  now  exists.  Then  the  public  mind 


All  the  blood  of  four  hundred  thousand  lives  has  not  been  grieved 
for  so  much  as  that  which  has  trickled  from  a  single  wound. — 
Treadwell  Walden. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  33 

will  rest  in  the  belief  that  it  is  in  the  course  of  ulti- 
mate extinction." 


(Fifth  joint  debate,  Galesburg,  III.,  October  7,  1858.) 

"  And  now  it  only  remains  for  me  to  say  that  I 

think  it  is  a  very  grave  question  for  the  people  of 

this  Union  to  consider  whether,  in  view  of 

,  O  -  Q 

the  fact  that  this  slavery  question  has  been 
the  only  one  that  has  ever  endangered  our  repub- 
lican institutions — the  only  one  that  has  ever  threat- 
ened or  menaced  a  dissolution  of  the  Union,  that 
has  ever  disturbed  us  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  us 
fear  for  the  perpetuity  of  our  liberty — in  view  of 
these  facts,  I  think  it  is  an  exceedingly  interesting 
and  important  question  for  this  people  to  consider— 
whether  we  shall  engage  in  the  policy  of  acquiring 
additional  territory,  discarding  altogether  from  our 
consideration  while  obtaining  new  territory,  the 
question  how  it  may  affect  us  in  regard  to  this,  the 
only  endangering,  element  to  our  liberties  and 
national  greatness." 


(Sixth  joint  debate,  Quincy,  III,  October  ij,  1858.) 

"  We  have  in  this  nation  this  element  of  domestic 

slavery.     It  is  the  opinion  of  all  the  great  men  who 

have  expressed  an  opinion  upon  it,  that  it 

is   a   dangerous   element.     We   keep    up   a 

controversy   in    regard   to     it.      That    controversy 

Who  of  us  thought,  on  the  morning  of  April  14,  as  we  grasped  the 
cup  of  thanksgiving,  that  it  would  soon  be  dashed  from  us,  and  the 
wine  of  bitterness  pressed  to  our  lips  ? — If errick  Johnson. 


34  WORDS   OP^   LINCOLN. 

necessarily  springs  from  differences  of  opinion,  and 
if  we  can  learn  exactly — can  reduce  to  the  lowest 
elements — what  that  difference  of  opinion  is,  we 
perhaps  shall  be  better  prepared  for  discussing  the 
different  systems  of  policy  that  we  would  propose 
in  regard  to  that  disturbing  element. 

"  I  suggest  that  the  difference  of  opinion,  reduced 

to  its  lowest  terms,  is  no  other  than  the  difference 

between    the    men    who    think    slavery    a 

jgr  g  f 

wrong  and  those  who  do  not  think  it  wrong. 

"  We  think  it  is  a  wrong  not  confining  itself 
merely  to  the  persons  or  the  States  where  it  exists, 
but  that  it  is  a  wrong  in  its  tendency,  to  say  the 
least,  that  extends  itself  to  the  existence  of  the 
whole  nation. 

"  Because  we  think  it  wrong,  we  propose  a  course 
of  policy  that  shall  deal  with  it  as  a  wrong.  We 
deal  with  it  as  with  any  other  wrong,  in  so  far  as  we 
can  prevent  its  growing  any  larger,  and  so  deal  with 
it  that,  in  the  run  of  time,  there  may  be  some 
promise  of  an  end  to  it." 


(Seventh  and  last  joint  debate,  Alton,  III.,  October  15,  1858.) 

$ 

"  It  may  be  argued  that  there  are  certain  condi- 
tions that  make  necessities  and  impose  them  upon 
us,    and   to   the   extent   that   a   necessity  is 

jO  _Q  J 

imposed  upon  a  man  he  must  submit  to  it. 
I  think  that  was  the  condition  in  which  we  found 
ourselves  when  we  established  this  government. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  the  greatest  president  that  ever  occupied  the 
executive  chair,  and  the  best  story  teller  ever  known  to  a  free  people. 
— HitghJ.  Hastings. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  35 

"  We  had  slaves  among  us  ;  we  could  not  get  our 
constitution  unless  we  permitted  them  to  remain  in 
slavery ;  we  could  not  secure  the  good  we  did  se- 
cure if  we  grasped  for  more ;  and  having  by  neces- 
sity submitted  to  that  much,  it  does  not  destroy 
the  principle  that  is  the  charter  of  our  liberties. 
Let  the  charter  remain  as  a  standard. 

"  I  think  the  authors  of  that  notable  instrument 
intended  to  include  all  men,  but  they  did  not  mean 
to  declare  all  men  equal  in  all  respects. 

"  They  defined  with  tolerable  distinctness  in  what 
they  did  consider  all  men  created  equal  :  equal  in 
certain  inalienable  rights,  among  which  are  life, 
liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  This  they 
said,  and  this  they  meant.  They  did  not  mean  to 
assert  the  obvious  untruth,  that  all  men  were  then 
actually  enjoying  that  quality,  or  yet  that  they 
were  about  to  confer  it  immediately  upon  them. 
In  fact,  they  had  no  power  to  confer  such  a  boon. 
They  meant  simply  to  declare  the  right,  so  that  the 
enforcement  of  it  might  follow  as  fast  as  circum- 
stances should  permit. 

"  They  meant  to  set  up  a  standard  maxim  for 
free  society,  which  should  be  familiar  to  all,  con- 
stantly looked  to,  constantly  labored  for, 
and  even  though  never  perfectly  'attained, 
constantly  approximated,  and  thereby  constantly 
spreading  and  deepening  its  influence  and  aug- 
menting the  happiness  and  value  of  life  to  all 
people,  of  all  colors,  everywhere. 

He  has  done  his  work  and  will  live  an  almost  spotless  character, 
embalmed  forever  in  the  nation's  heart,  as  the  patron  saint  of  its  con- 
summated liberty. — Henry  Smith. 


36  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

"  There,  again,  are  the  sentiments  I  have  expressed 
in  regard  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence  upon 
a  former  occasion — sentiments  which  have  been  put 
in  print  and  read  wherever  anybody  cared  to  know 
what  so  humble  an  individual  as  myself  chose  to  say 
in  regard  to  it." 


"THOSE  WHO  DENY  FREEDOM  TO 

OTHERS  DESERVE  IT  NOT 

FOR  THEMSELVES." 

(Letter  to  the  Reptiblicans  of  Boston,  April,  ftfjp.) 

"  This  is  a  world  of  compensation,  and  he  who 

would  be  no  slave,  must  consent  to  have  no  slave. 

Those  who  deny  freedom  to  others  deserve 

it  not  for  themselves,  and  under  a  just  God 

cannot  long  retain  it." 


NATURAL  RIGHTS  OF  THE  NEGRO. 

(Speech  at  Columbus,  O.,  September, 


"  I    have  no  purpose  to  introduce  political  and 

social  equality  between    the   white   and   the  black 

races.       There     is     a    physical     difference 

between  the  two  which,  in   my  judgment, 

will  probably  forbid  their  ever  living  together  upon 

the  footing  of  perfect  equality,  and  inasmuch  as  it 

Great,  illustrious,  and  successful  as  was  his  statesmanship,  clear, 
penetrating,  and  vigorous,  his  manhood  must  be  acknowledged  as 
that  which  has  most  enshrined  him  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen.  — 
Edward  Searing. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  37 

becomes  a  necessity  that  there  must  be  a  differ- 
ence, I,  as  well  as  Judge  Douglas,  am  in  favor  of 
the  race  to  which  I  belong  having  the  superior 
position. 

"  I  have  never  said  anything  to  the  contrary,  but 
I  hold  that,  notwithstanding  all  this,  there  is  no 
reason  in  the  world  why  the  negro  is  not  entitled  to 
all  the  natural  rights  enumerated  in  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  the  right  to  life,  liberty,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness. 

"  In  the  right  to  eat  the  bread — without  leave  of 
anybody  else — which  his  own  hands  earn,  he  is  my 
equal,  and  the  equal  of  Judge  Douglas,  and  the 
equal  of  every  living  man'' 


KINDLY  FEELING  FOR  HIS    OPPONENTS. 

{Speech  at  Cincinnati,  O.,  September,  1859,  addressed  par- 
ticularly to  Kentuckians.} 

"  I  will  tell  you,  so  far  as  I  am  authorized  to  speak 
for  the  opposition,  what  we  mean   to  do  with  you. 
We  mean  to  treat  you,  as  near  as  we  pos- 
sibly   can,    as   Washington,    Jefferson,-  and 
Madison  treated  you.    We  mean  to  leave  you  alone, 
and   in   no  way  to  interfere  with  your  institution  ; 
to  abide  by  all  and  every  compromise  of  the  Con- 
stitution, and,  in  a  word,  coming  back  to  the  origi- 
nal proposition,  to  treat  you  so  far  as  degenerated 

The  character  of  Abraham  Lincoln  was  beautifully  molded  by  the 
efforts  of  a  mother,  and  the  American  people  saw  them  in  him  when 
they  called  him  to  be  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  nation. — Robert  H. 
Williams. 


38  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

men  (if  we  have  degenerated)  may,  according  to 
the  examples  of  those  noble  fathers — Washington, 
Jefferson,  and  Madison. 

"  We  mean  to  remember  that  you  are  as  good 
as  we  ;  that  there  is  no  difference  between  us  other 
than  the  difference  of  circumstances.  We  mean 
to  recognize  and  bear  in  mind  always  that  you 
have  as  good  hearts  in  your  bosoms  as  other  peo- 
ple, or  as  we  claim  to  have,  and  treat  you  accord- 
ingly. We  mean  to  marry  your  girls  when  we 
have  a  chance,— the  white  ones,  I  mean, — and  I 
have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  I  once  did  have 
a  chance  in  that  way. 

"  The  good  old  maxims  of  the  Bible  are  applic- 
able to  human  affairs,  and  in  this,  as  in  other 
things,  we  may  say  here  that  he  who  is  not 
for  us  is  against  us ;  he  who  gathereth  not 
with  us  scattereth. 

"  I  .should  be  glad  to  have  some  of  the  many 
good  and  able  and  noble  men  of  the  South  to  place 
themselves  where  we  can  confer  upon  them  the  high 
honor  of  an  election  upon  one  or  the  other  end  of 
our  ticket.  It  would  do  my  soul  good  to  do  that 
thing. 

"  It  would  enable  us  to  teach  them  that,  inas- 
much as  we  elect  one  of  their  number  to  carry  out 
our  principles,  we  are  free  from  the  charge  that  we 
mean  more  than  we  say." 

Heroic  soul,  in  homely  garb  half  hid. 

Sincere,  sagacious,  melancholy,  quaint. 

What  he  endured,  no  less  than  what  he  did, 

Has  reared  his  monument,  and  crowned  him  saint. 

— /.  T.  Trowbridge. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  39 

SETTLEMENT  WITH  AN  AGENT   OF   THE 
POST   OFFICE    DEPARTMENT. 

An  agent  of   the  Post  Office  Department  called 

upon  Mr.  Lincoln,  as  late  postmaster  at  New  Salem. 

111.,  to  obtain  a  small  balance  of  seventeen 

dollars,  which  was  found  due  the  department. 

Going  to  an  old  trunk,  Mr.  Lincoln  took  therefrom 

the  exact   amount,  which    he    had    laid   away,  and 

handed  it  to  the  agent  with  the  remark:  "I  never 

use  any  man's  money  but  my  own." 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN'S  AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

The  following  autobiography  was  written  by  Mr. 
Lincoln's  own  hand  at  the  request  of  J.  W.  Fell  of 
Springfield,  111.,  December  20,  1859.  ^n  the  note 
which  accompanied  it  the  writer  says  :  "  Herewith  is 
a  little  sketch,  as  you  requested.  There  is  not  much 
of  it,  for  the  reason,  I  suppose,  that  there  is  not 
much  of  me." 

"I  was  born   February   12,   1809,  in   Hardin  Co., 

Ky.     My  parents  were  both    born    in   Virginia,  of 

undistinguished    families  —  second  families, 

perhaps    I    should  say.      My   mother,  who 

died  in  my  tenth  year,  was  of  a  family  of  the  name 

of   Hanks,   some   of   whom   now  reside    in    Adams 

Co.,  and    others   in  Mason    Co.,   111.     My   paternal 

grandfather,    Abraham     Lincoln,    emigrated    from 

More  eyes  have  looked  upon  his  funeral  procession  for  sixteen 
hundred  miles  or  more  by  night  and  by  day,  by  sunlight,  twilight, 
and  torchlight,  than  ever  before  watched  the  progress  of  a  procession. 
— Richard  H.  Steele. 


4O  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

Rockingham  Co.,  Va.,  to  Kentucky,  about  1781  or 
1782,  where,  a  year  or  two  later,  he  was  killed  by 
Indians,  not  in  battle,  but  by  stealth,  when  he  was 
laboring  to  open  a  farm  in  the  forest.  His  ances- 
tors, who  were  Quakers,  went  to  Virginia  from  Berks 
Co.,  Pa.  An  effort  to  identify  them  with  the  New 
England  family  of  the  same  name  ended  in  nothing 
more  definite  than  a  similarity  of  Christian  names 
in  both  families,  such  as  Enoch,  Levi,  Mordecai, 
Solomon,  Abraham,  and  the  like. 

"  My  father,  at  the  death  of  his  father,  was  but 
six  years  of  age,  and  grew  up  literally  without  any 
education.  He  removed  from  Kentucky  to  what  is 
now  Spencer  Co.,  Ind.,  in  my  eighth  year.  We 
reached  our  new  home  about  the  time  the  State 
came  into  the  Union.  It  was  a  wild  region,  with 
many  bears  and  other  wild  animals  still  in  the 
woods.  There  I  grew  up.  There  were  some 
schools,  so-called,  but  no  qualification  was  ever  re- 
quired of  a  teacher  beyond  *  readin',  writin',  and 
cipherinY  to  the  rule  of  three.  If  a  straggler,  sup- 
posed to  understand  Latin,  happened  to  sojourn  in 
the  neighborhood,  he  was  looked  upon  as  a  wizard. 
There  was  absolutely  nothing  to  excite  ambition  for 
education.  Of  course,  when  I  came  of  age  I  did 
not  know  much.  Still,  somehow,  I  could  read, 
write,  and  cipher  to  the  rule  of  three,  but  that  was 
all.  I  have  not  been  to  school  since.  The  little 
advance  I  now  have  upon  this  store  of  education  I 

Mr.  Lincoln  believed  the  Union  was  to  stand  and  be  a  union  for 
liberty,  and  he  wisely  believed  the  less  of  wrath  the  people  had  to 
forget  the  easier  it  would  be  in  the  great  day  of  reconstruction  to 
close  up  in  a  fellowship  that  should  endure. — A.  D.  Mayo. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  41 

have  picked  up  from  time  to  time  under  the  pressure 
of  necessity. 

"  I  was  raised  to  farm  work,  at  which  I  continued 
till  I  was  twenty-two.  At  twenty-one  I  came  to 
Illinois,  and  passed  the  first  year  in  Macon  County. 
Then  I  got  to  New  Salem,  at  that  time  in  Sangamon, 
now  Menard  County,  where  I  remained  a  year  as  a 
sort  of  clerk  in  a  store.  Then  came  the  Black  Hawk 
War,  and  I  was  elected  a  captain  of  volunteers — a 
success  which  gave  me  more  pleasure  than  any  I 
have  had  since.  I  went  into  the  campaign,  was 
elected,  ran  for  the  Legislature  the  same  year  (1832), 
and  was  beaten — the  only  time  I  have  ever  been 
beaten  by  the  people.  The  next  and  three  succeed- 
ing biennial  elections  I  was  elected  to  the  Legisla- 
ture. I  was  not  a  candidate  afterward.  During  the 
legislative  period  I  had  studied  law,  and  removed  to 
Springfield  to  practice  it.  In  1846  I  was  elected  to 
the  Lower  House  of  Congress.  Was  not  a  candi- 
date for  re-election.  From  1849  to  ^54,  both  in- 
clusive, practiced  law  more  assiduously  than  ever 
before.  Always  a  Whig  in  politics,  and  generally 
on  the  Whig  electoral  ticket,  making  active  can- 
vasses. I  was  losing  interest  in  politics  when  the 
repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  aroused  me 
again.  What  I  have  done  since  then  is  pretty  well 
known. 

"  If  any  personal  description  of  me  is  thought  de- 
sirable, it  may  be  said  I  am  in  height  six  feet  four 

If  he  could  have  roused  for  one  moment  to  consciousness  and  his 
lips  had  had  power  to  speak,  who  can  doubt  that  his  language  would 
have  been,  forgetting  all  personal  wrong,  "  P'ather,  forgive  them,  for 
they  know  not  what  they  do." — Charles  Lowe. 


42  Wni'l»      '  -I     I. IV  "I.N. 

inches,  nearly  ;  lean  in  flesh,  weighing,  on  an  aver- 
age, one  hundred  ,iiid  eighty  pounds;  dark  com- 
plexion, with  coarse  black  hair  and  gray  eyes — no 
other  marks  or  brands  recollected. 

"  Your,  v  cry  truly, 

"  A.  Li.\<  ni. ,\." 


VIEWS    REGARDING  A     PROTECTIVE 

IAK1KF. 

(Letter  to  Dr.  Edward  Wallace,  October  //,  fSjp.) 

"I  believe  if  we  could  have  a  moderate,  carefully 

adjusted    protective    tariff,   so    far    ai  <|iiir.M  ed     in    as 

not    to     he     a    peipetual     Mibject     of    political 

strife,  squabbles,  changes,  and   uncertainties, 
it  would  be  better  for  us." 


"LET     US     HAVE    FAITH     THAT     RIGHT 
MAKES  MIGHT." 

(Speech  at  Cooper  ///.*•//////,-,   l-'.-hruiuy  .-;',  i$6o.) 

"I  defy  anyone  to  show  that  any  liviu;;   man  in 

the  whole  world  ever  did,  prior  to  the   hr-inning  of 

the  present  century  (and   I   mi-lit  alim.st  say 

piior  to  the  beginning  ol  the  last  halt  «»l  the 

present  century  >,  declare  tiiat,  in  his  under-.tanding, 
any  proper  division  of  local  in>m  Federal  authority, 

or  any  part  of  the  Constitution,  forbade  the  l-'edei.d 


He- was  a  great  li-t.U-r,  beicftU  B  to  hfc   •  <>inmon  sen»o  was  :nlilnl  tin- 

!l    "I    iiii:i;;iii.i!l(i||.  — (  '//,///,>    /  >lh//i'\'    II  .1 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  43 

Government  to  control  as  to  slavery  in  the  Federal 
Territories. 

"  To  those  who  now  so  declare,  I  give,  not  only 
*  our  fathers  who  framed  the  government  under 
which  we  live/  but  with  them  all  other  living  men 
within  the  century  in  which  it  was  framed,  among 
whom  to  search,  and  they  shall  not  be  able  to  find 
the  evidence  of  a  single  man  agreeing  with  them. 

"  I  do  not  mean  to  say  we  are  bound  to  follow 
implicitly  in  whatever  our  fathers  did.  To  do  so 
would  be  to  discard  all  the  lights  of  current  experi- 
ence, to  reject  all  progress,  all  improvement. 
What  I  do  say  is,  that  if  we  would  supplant  the 
opinions  and  policy  of  our  fathers  in  any  case,  we 
should  do  so  upon  evidence  so  conclusive,  and  argu- 
ment so  clear,  that  even  their  authority,  fairly  con- 
sidered and  weighed,  cannot  stand ;  and  most  surely 
not  in  a  case  whereof  we  ourselves  declare  they*  un- 
derstood the  question  better  than  we. 

"  Let  all  who  believe  that  '  our  fathers,  who 
framed  the  government  under  which  we  live,'  under- 
stood this  question  just  as  well,  and  even 
better,  than  we  do  now,  speak  as  they  spoke, 
and  act  as  they  acted  upon  it. 

*'  It  is  exceedingly  desirable  that  all  parts  of  this 
great  confederacy  shall  be  at  peace,  and  in  har- 
mony, one  with  another.  Let  us  Republicans  do 
our  part  to  have  it  so.  Even  though  much  pro- 
voked, let  us  do  nothing  through  passion  and  ill- 
temper. 


Abraham  Lincoln  threw  himself  into  the  deadly  breach  to  perpetu- 
ate the  freedom  and  integrity  of  the  nation. — D.  L.  Gear. 


44  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

"  Even  though  the  Southern  people  will  not  so 
much  as  listen  to  us,  let  us  calmly  consider  their  de- 
mands, and  yield  to  them  if,  in  our  deliberate  view 
of  our  duty,  we  possibly  can.  Judging  by  all  they 
say  and  do,  and  by  the  subject  and  nature  of  their 
controversy  with  us,  let  us  determine,  if  we  can, 
what  will  satisfy  them. 

"  Wrong  as  we  think  slavery  is,  we  can  yet  afford 

to  let  it  alone  where  it  is,  because  that  much  is  due 

to    the     necessity   arising    from    its   actual 

presence  in  the  nation.     But  can  we,  while 

our  votes  will  prevent  it,  allow  it  to  spread  into  the 

national  Territories,  and  to  overrun  us  here  in  these 

free  States  ? 

"  If  our  sense  of  duty  forbids  this,  then  let  us 
stand  by  our  duty,  fearlessly  and  effectively.  Let 
us  be  diverted  by  none  of  those  sophistical  con- 
triva/ices  wherewith  we  are  so  industriously  plied 
and  belabored — contrivances  such  as  groping  for 
some  middle  ground  between  the  right  and  wrong, 
vain  as  the  search  for  a  man  who  should  be  neither 
a  living  man  nor  a  dead  man  ;  such  as  a  policy  of 
*  don't  care '  on  a  question  about  which  all  true  men 
do  care ;  such  as  Union  appeals  beseeching  true 
Union  men  to  yield  to  Disunionists,  reversing  the 
divine  rule,  and  calling,  not  the  sinners,  but  the 
righteous  to  repentance ;  such  as  invocations  to 
Washington  imploring  men  to  unsay  what  Washing- 
ton said,  and  undo  what  Washington  did. 

Scan  the  world,  select  the  greatest  statesmen  and  scholars  of  the 
Old  and  New  World,  and  tell  me,  with  the  light  even  of  to-day, 
where  is  the  man  who  could  have  better  executed  the  trusts  com- 
mitted to  him  than  Abraham  Lincoln. — Rufus  P. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  45 

"  Let  us  have  faith  that  right  makes  might,  and  in 
that  faith,  let  us,  to  the  end,  dare  to  do  our  duty,  as 
we  understand  it." 


"WE  SHALL  TRY  TO  DO  OUR  DUTY." 

(Speech  at  Leawenworth,  Kans.,  spring  of  1860.) 

"  If  we  shall  constitutionally  elect  a  President,  it 
will  be  our  duty  to  see  that  you  also  submit.  Old 
John  Brown  has  been  executed  for  treason 
against  a  State.  We  cannot  object,  even 
though  he  agreed  with  us  in  thinking  slavery 
wrong.  That  cannot  excuse  violence,  bloodshed, 
and  treason.  It  could  avail  him  nothing  that  he 
might  think  himself  right.  So,  if  we  constitution- 
ally elect  a  president,  and,  therefore,  you  under- 
take to  destroy  the  Union,  it  will  be  our  duty 
to  deal  with  you  as  old  John  Brown  has  been  dealt 
with.  We  shall  try  to  do  our  duty.  We  hope 
and  believe  that  in  no  section  will  a  majority 
so  act  as  to  render  such  extreme  measure 
necessary." 


WOULD  NOT  BUY  THE  NOMINATION 
FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY. 


To  a  party  who  wished  to  be  empowered  to  nego- 
tiate   reward    for  promises    of   influence    in 
the  Chicago  Convention,  1860,  Mr.  Lincoln 
replied  : 

It  did  not  please  God  to  spare  him  until  the  people  were  settled  in 
peace  in  the  redeemed  and  reunited  land. — S.  Irenaus  Prime. 


46  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

"  No,  gentlemen ;  IJiave  not  asked  the  nomina- 
tion, and  I  will  not  now  buy  it  with  pledges.  If  I 
am  nominated  and  elected,  I  shall  not  go  into  the 
presidency  as  the  tool  of  this  man  or  that  man,  or 
as  the  property  of  any  factor  or  clique." 


FIRST  NEWS    OF    HIS    NOMINATION  FOR 
THE  PRESIDENCY. 

While    seated  in    the  Journal  office,  Springfield, 

111.,  May  8,  1860,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  handed  a 

telegram  which  gave  him  the  first  news  of 

his  nomination  for  presidency.     His  first  words  were : 

"  There's  a  little  woman  down  at  our  house  would 

like  to  hear  this — I'll  go  down  and  tell  her." 


FORMAL  ANNOUNCEMENT  OF  HIS  NOMI- 
NATION FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY. 

(Reply  to  the  President  of  the  Convention,  at  tJie  Homestead, 
Springfield,  May  19,  1860.) 

"  I  tender  to  you,  and  through  you  to  the  Repub- 
lican National  Convention,  and  all  the  people  repre- 
sented   in  it,    my    profoundest    thanks  for 
the  high  honor   done  me,  which  you  now 
formally  announce. 

"  Deeply,  and  even  painfully,  sensible  of  the  great 
responsibility  which  is  inseparable  from  this  high 

Through  all  the  disastrous  days  and  years  of  the  long  conflict,  it 
was  a  gift  of  superlative  greatness  in  Mr.  Lincoln  to  know  just  how 
much  and  how  little  to  say  and  do. — Charles  Hammond. 


Photo,   1861,  McXitlta,  Springfield,  III. 
A.    LINCOLN. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  47 

honor, — a  responsibility  which  I  could  almost  wish 
had  fallen  upon  some  one  of  the  far  more  eminent 
men  and  experienced  statesmen  whose  distinguished 
names  were  before  the  convention, — I  shall,  by  your 
leave,  consider  more  fully  the  resolutions  of  the 
convention,  denominated  the  platform,  and,  without 
any  unneccessary  or  unreasonable  delay,  respond  to 
you,  Mr.  Chairman,  in  writing,  not  doubting  that 
the  platform  will  be  found  satisfactory,  and  the 
nomination  gratefully  accepted." 


THE  PLEDGE  WITH  COLD  WATER. 

(Remarks   to   the  Committee  that  notified  him,  at  his   home, 
May  1860,  of  his  Nomination.} 

"  Gentlemen,  we  must  pledge  our  mutual  health 

in  this  most  healthy  beverage  which  God  has  given 

man.     It  is  the  only  beverage  I  have  ever 

used  or  allowed  in  my  family,  and  I  cannot 

conscientiously     depart    from    it     on    the    present 

occasion.     It  is  pure  Adam's  ale  from  the  well." 


LINCOLN'S  MODESTY. 

{Speech  at  the  State  Fair,  Springfield,  III.,  August  8,  1860.} 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  following   speech,  Mr. 
Lincoln  descended  from  the  platform  and  with  diffi- 
culty made  his  way  through  the  vast  throng 
who  eagerly  pressed  around  to  take  him  by 

It  now  seems  that  any  man,  however  endowed,  like  Abraham 
Lincoln,  could  not  have  so  well  rilled  the  demand  as  president. — 
E.  O.  Haven. 


48  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

the  hand.  By  an  adroit  movement  he  escaped  on 
horseback,  while  the  crowd  were  besieging  the  car- 
riage in  which  it  was  expected  he  would  return  to 
the  city. 

"  It  is  my  purpose  since  I  have  been  placed  in 
my  present  position  to  make  no  speeches.  This 
assembly  having  been  drawn  together  at  the  place 
of  my  residence,  it  appeared  to  be  the  wish  of  those 
constituting  this  vast  assembly  to  see  me,  and  it  is 
certainly  my  wish  to  see  all  of  you.  I  appear  upon 
this  ground  here  at  this  time  only  for  the  purpose 
of  offering  myself  the  best  opportunity  of  seeing 
you  and  enabling  you  to  see  me. 

"  I  confess  with  gratitude,  be  it  understood,  that 

I  did  not  suppose  my  appearance  among  you  would 

create  the  tumult  which  I  now  witness.     I 

am  gratified  because  it  is  a  tribute  which 

can  be  paid  to  no  man  as  a  man. 

"  It  is  the  evidence  that  four  years  from  this  time 
you  will  give  a  like  manifestation  to  the  next  man 
who  is  the  representative  of  the  truth  on  the  ques- 
tions that  now  agitate  the  public.  And  it  is  because 
you  will  then  fight  for  this  cause  as  you  do  now,  or 
even  with  greater  ardor  than  now,  though  I  may 
be  dead  and  gone." 


It  is  certainly  a  wondrous  Providence  that,  when  republican 
institutions  were  about  to  be  put  to  a  fearful  test,  and  the  blaze  of 
this  gigantic  strife  was  to  attract  the  eyes  of  the  world,  and  the  vital 
powers  of  free  government  were  to  be  illustrated,  such  a  man  as 
Lincoln  should  have  been  elevated  to  the  gaze  of  mankind. — S.  C. 
Baldridge. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  49 

"I    SEE    THE    STORM    COMING  —  WITH 
GOD'S  HELP  I  SHALL  NOT  FAIL." 

(A  quiet  talk  in  the  State  House,  Springfield,  III.,  during  the 
campaign  of  1860} 

"  I  know  there  is  a  God,  and  that  He  hates  injus- 
tice and  slavery.  I  see  the  storm  coming,  and  I 
know  that  His  hand  is  in  it.  If  He  has 
a  place  and  work  for  me, — and  I  think  He 
has, — I  believe  I  am  ready. 

"  I  am  nothing,  but  truth  is  everything.  I  know 
I  am  right  because  I  know  that  liberty  is  right,  for 
Christ  teaches  it,  and  Christ  is  God. 

<4 1  have  told  them  that  *  a  house  divided  against 
itself  cannot  stand/  and  Christ  and  reason  say  the 
same  ;  and  they  will  find  it  so.  Douglas  don't  care 
whether  slavery  is  voted  up  or  voted  down,  but  God 
cares,  and  humanity  cares,  and  I  care ;  and  with 
God's  help  I  shall  not  fail. 

"  I  may  not  see  the  end  ;  but  it  will  come,  and  I 
shall  be  vindicated ;  and  these  men  will  find  that 
they  have  not  read  their  Bibles  aright." 


"ALL    AMERICAN    CITIZENS    ARE 
BROTHERS." 

(Rejoicing    over    the   November    election,    Springfield,    III., 
November  20,  1860,  at  a  political  meeting.} 

"  I  rejoice  with  you  in  the  success  which  has  so 
far  attended  the  Republican  cause,  yet  in  all  our 
rejoicing  let  us  neither  express  nor  cherish  any  hard 


The  greatest  man  of  his  age. — A,  E,  Burnside* 


5O  WORDS    OF   LINCOLN. 

feelings  toward  any  citizen  who  by  his  vote  differed 
with  us.  Let  us  at  all  times  remember 
that  all  American  citizens  are  brothers  of  a 

common  country,  and  should  dwell  together  in  the 

bonds  of  fraternal  feeling." 


THE   PEOPLE    DO  WELL  IF  WELL 
DONE    BY. 

{Speech  at  Bloommgton,  III. ,  en  route  to  Chicago, 
November  21,  1860.} 

"  I  am  glad  to  meet  you,  after  a  longer  separation 

than  has  been  common  between  you  and  me.     I 

thank  you  for  the  good  report  you  made  of 

the  election  in  old  McLean.     The  people  of 

the  country  have  again  fixed  up  their  affairs  for  a 

constitutional  period  of  time. 

"  By  the  way,  I  think  very  much  of  the  people, 
as  an  old  friend  said  he  thought  of  a  woman.  He 
said  when  he  lost  his  wife,  who  had  been  a  great 
help  to  him  in  his  business,  he  thought  he  was 
ruined — that  he  could  never  find  another  to  fill  her 
place.  At  length,  however,  he  married  another, 
who  he  found  did  quite  as  well  as  the  first,  and  that 
his  opinion  now  was  that  any  woman  would  do  well 
who  was  well  done  by. 

"  So  I  think  of  the  whole  people  of  the  nation- 
it  is  hard  to  say  what  more  Lincoln,  living,  might  have  consecrated 
to  his  country,  but  God  ordained  that,  by  his  death,  every  doubt  in 
regard  to  the  future  of  this  nation  should  be  swept  away. — Erskine 
N.  White. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  51 

they  will  ever  do  well  if  well  done  by.  We  will  try 
to  do  well  by  them  in  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, North  and  South,  with  entire  confidence 

that  all  will  be  well  with  all  of  us." 


HIS  "  EARLY  HISTORY." 
(Reply  to  a  gentleman  who  asked  for  a  sketch  of  his  life.) 

"  My  early  history  is  perfectly  characterized  by  a 

single  line  of  Gray's  '  Elegy  ' : 
1861 

"  '  The  short  and  simple  annals  of  the  poor.'  " 


LAST  VISIT  TO  HIS  LAW  OFFICE. 

(Conversation  with  his  law  partner,  Wm.  H.  Herndon,  before 
leaving  for  Washington,  1861.) 

"  I  love  the  people  here,  Billy,  and  owe  them  all 
that  I  am.     If   God   spares   my  life  to   the 
end,    I    shall    come    back   among    you    and 
spend  the  remnant  of  my  days." 


FAREWELL  ADDRESS  TO  HIS 
NEIGHBORS. 

(When  leaving   Springfield  for    Washington,  February  n, 
1861.) 

"  My  friends,  no  one  not  in  my  position  can  ap- 
preciate the  sadness  I  feel  at  this  parting.     To  this 

people  I  owe  all  that  I  am.      Here  I  have 
1861     f.     5  , 

lived    more    than    a    quarter   of  a    century. 

I  yield  to  no  one  in  veneration  to  his  memory,  or  admiration  for  his 
grand  qualities  of  head  and  heart. — Levi  P.  Morton. 


52  WORDS  OF  LINCOLN. 

Here  my  children  were  born,  and  here  one  of  them 
lies  buried. 

"  I  know  not  how  soon  I  shall  see  you  again.  A 
duty  devolves  upon  me  which  is  greater,  perhaps, 
than  that  which  has  devolved  upon  any  other  man 
since  the  days  of  Washington.  He  never  would 
have  succeeded  except  for  the  aid  of  divine  Provi- 
dence, upon  which  he  at  all  time  relied. 

"  I  feel  that  I  cannot  succeed  without  the  same 
divine  aid  which  sustained  him ;  and  on  the  same 
Almighty  Being  I  place  my  reliance  for  support, 
and  I  hope  you,  my  friends,  will  pray  that  I 
may  receive  the  divine  assistance,  without  which  I 
cannot  succeed,  but  with  which  success  is  certain. 
Again,  I  bid  you  all  an  affectionate  farewell." 


-BEHIND  THE  CLOUD  THE  SUN  IS  STILL 
SHINING." 

(Speech  at  Tolono,  III.,  February  n,  1861^) 

"  I  am  leaving  you  on  an  errand  of  national  im- 
portance, attended,  as  you  are  aware,  with  considera- 
ble   difficulties.     Let    us    believe,    as  some 
poet   has  expressed  it,   '  Behind  the  cloud 
the  sun  is  still  shining.' " 


We  brought  him  from  westward  because  he  was  just ; 
We  made  him  our  chieftain,  we  gave  him  our  trust  ; 
Serene  in  the  midst  of  the  tumult  he  stood, 
And  we  learn  that  'tis  greatest  of  all  to  be  good. 

— Martha  Perry  Lowe. 


WORDS  OF   LINCOLN.  53 


"PRESERVE  THE  UNION  AND  LIBERTY." 

(In  response  to  an  address  of  welcome  by  Governor  O.  P.  Morton, 
Indianapolis,  February  n,  1861.) 

"  In  all  trying  positions  in  which  I  shall  be 
placed,  and,  doubtless,  I  shall  be  placed  in  many 
such,  my  reliance  will  be  placed  upon  you 
and  the  people  of  the  United  States;  and  I 
wish  you  to  remember,  now  and  forever,  that  it  is 
your  business,  and  not  mine;  that  if  the  union  of 
these  States,  and  the  liberties  of  this  people,  shall 
be  lost,  it  is  but  little  to  any  one  man  of  fifty-two 
years  of  age,  but  a  great  deal  to  the  thirty  millions 
of  people  who  inhabit  these  United  States,  and  to 
their  posterity  in  all  coming  time. 

"  It  is  your  business  to  rise  up  and  preserve  the 
Union  and  liberty  for  yourselves,  and  not  for  me." 


THE  PEOPLE'S   POWER  AS   ETERNAL  AS 
THE    PRINCIPLE  OF  LIBERTY. 

(Speech  at  Laivrenceburg,  Ind.,  February  12,  1861.} 

"  The  power  intrusted  to  me  shall  be  exercised  as 

perfectly  to   protect  the   rights   of  your  neighbors 

across  the  river,  as  to  protect  yours  on  this 

side.     I  know  no  difference  in  the  protection 

of  constitutional  rights  on  either  side  of  the  river. 

An  ardent  lover  of  his  whole  country,  hating  no  one,  desiring  to 
punish  no  one,  yearning  to  see  the  Union  restored,  and  the  old  good 
will  and  good  humor  return  to  bless  the  land. — Albert  Pike. 


54  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

"  If,  in  my  brief  term  of  public  office,  I  shall  be 
wicked  or  foolish,  if  you  remain  right  and  true  and 
honest,  you  cannot  be  betrayed.  My  power  is  tem- 
porary and  fleeting ;  yours  is  as  eternal  as  the  prin- 
ciple of  liberty. 

"  Cultivate  and  protect  that  sentiment,  and  your 
ambitious  leaders  will  be  reduced  to  the  position  of 
servants  instead  of  masters." 


RESPONSE  TO  AN  ADDRESS  OF  WELCOME 
FROM   MAYOR  BISHOP. 

{Speech  at  the  Bur  net .  House,  Cincinnati,  February  12,  1861.) 

"  I  have  spoken  but  once  before  this  in  Cincinnati. 
That  was  a  year  previous  to  the  late  presidential 
election.  On  that  occasion,  in  a  playful 
manner,  but  with  sincere  words,  I  addressed 
much  of  what  I  said  to  the  Kentuckians.  I  then 
said,  We  mean  to  remember  that  you  are  as  good  as 
we — that  there  is  no  difference  between  us,  other 
than  the  difference  of  circumstances.  We  mean  to 
recognize  and  bear  in  mind  always  that  you  have  as 
good  hearts  in  your  bosoms  as  other  people,  or  as 
good  as  we  claim  to  have,  and  treat  you  accord- 
ingly. 

"  Fellow-citizens  of  Kentucky,  friends,  brethren, — 
may  I  call  you  such  ? — in  my  new  position  I  see  no 
more  occasion  and  feel  no  inclination  to  retract  a 

The  name  of  Abraham  Lincoln  will  shine  with  ever-increasing 
luster,  as  the  result  of  his  public  life  and  services  shall  be  more  clearly 
manifested.  —  Henry  S.  Frieze. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  55 

word   of  this.     If   it   shall    not    be   made   good,  be 
assured  that  the  fault  shall  not  be  mine." 


LOOKS    TO    GOD    AND    THE    AMERICAN 
PEOPLE    FOR   SUPPORT. 

(Address  to  the  Ohio  Legislature,  Columbus,  February  13, 1861.) 

"  It  is  true,  as  has  been  said  by  the  President  of 

the  Senate,  that  very  great  responsibility  rests  upon 

me  in  the  position  to  which  the  votes  of  the 

American    people    have    called    me.     I   am 

deeply    sensible   of  that  weighty  responsibility.     I 

cannot  but  know,  what  you  all  know,  that  without  a 

name — perhaps  without  a  reason  why  I  should  have 

a  name — there  has  fallen  upon   me  a  task  such  as 

did  not  rest  upon  the  Father  of  his  Country. 

"  And,  so  feeling,  I  cannot  but  turn  and  look 
back  for  the  support  without  which  it  will  be  im- 
possible for  me  to  perform  that  great  task.  I  turn, 
then,  and  look  to  the  American  people,  and  to  that 
God  who  has  never  forsaken  them." 


"I  SHALL  VERY  SOON  PASS  AWAY  FROM 
YOU." 

(Address  at  Columbus,  O.,  from  the   Capitol  steps,  February 
ij,  1861.} 

"  I  am  doubly  thankful  that  you  have  appeared 
here  to  give  me  this  greeting.     It  is  not  much  to 

me,  for  I   shall   very  soon   pass  away  from 
1861 

you  ;   but   we  have   a  large   country   and  a 

The  typical  American,  pure  and  simple. — Asa  Gray. 


56  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

large  future  before  us,  and  the  manifestations  of 
good  will  toward  the  government,  and  affection  for 
the  Union,  which  you  may  exhibit,  are  of  immense 
value  to  you  and  your  posterity  forever." 


THE    MAJORITY   OF   THE   AMERICAN 
PEOPLE  MUST  RULE. 

{Speech    at    the  depot,  Steubenville,  O.,  February  14, 

"  I  fear  that  great  confidence  in  my  abilities  is  un- 
founded. The  place  I  am  about  to  assume  is  encom- 
passed by  vast  difficulties.  As  I  am,  nothing 
shall  be  wanting  on  my  part.  Unless  sus- 
tained by  the  American  people  and  God,  I  cannot 
hope  to  be  successful.  I  believe  the  devotion  to  the 
Constitution  is  equally  great  on  both  sides  of  the 
river ;  it  is  only  the  different  understandings  of  it. 
The  only  dispute  is,  what  are  their  rights? 

"  If  the  majority  should  not  rule,  who  should  be 
the  judge?  When  such  a  judge  is  found  we  must 
be  all  bound  by  his  decision.  That  judge  is  the 
majority  of  the  American  people;  if  not,  then  the 
minority  must  control.  Would  that  be  right,  just, 
or  generous?  Assuredly  not. 

"  If  a  wrong  policy  is  adopted,  the  opportunity  to 
condemn  it  would  occur  in  four  years  ;  then  I  can 
be  turned  out,  and  a  better  man,  with  better  views, 
put  in  my  place." 

Some  men  at  his  very  side  chided  him  for  slowness,  but  it  did  not 
quicken  his  step,  and  others,  equally  near  to  him  in  influence,  rebuked 
him  for  hastiness,  but  it  availed  nothing  to  check  his  onward  prog- 
ress.— Henry  Darling. 


WORDS  OF  LINCOLN.  57 

"A. JUST  AND  EQUITABLE  TARIFF." 

(Address  at  Pittsbnrg,  Pa.,  February  15,  1861.) 

"According  to  my  political  education,  I  am  in- 
clined to  believe  that  the  people  in  the  various  por- 
tions of  the  country  should  have  their  own 
views  carried  out  through  their  representa- 
tives in  Congress ;  that  consideration  of  the  tariff 
bill  should  not  be  postponed  until  the  next  session 
of  the  National  Legislature. 

"  No  subject  should  engage  your  representatives 
more  closely  than  that  of  the  tariff.  If  I  have  any 
recommendation  to  make,  it  will  be  that  every  man 
who  is  called  upon  to  serve  the  people,  in  a  repre- 
sentative capacity,  should  study  the  whole  subject 
thoroughly,  as  I  intend  to  do  myself,  looking  to  all 
the  varied  interests  of  the  common  country,  so  that, 
when  the  time  for  action  arrives,  adequate  protec- 
tion shall  be  extended  to  the  coal  and  iron  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  the  corn  of  Illinois. 

"  Permit  me  to  express  the  hope  that  the  impor- 
tant subject  may  receive  such  consideration  at  the 
hands  of  your  representatives  that  the  interests  of 
no  part  of  the  country  may  be  overlooked,  but  that 
all  sections  may  share  in  the  common  benefit  of  a 
just  and  equitable  tariff." 


His  name,  reaching  down  through  the  age  of  time, 
Will  still  through  the  age  of  eternity  shine- 
Like  a  star,  sailing  on  through  the  depths  of  the  blue, 
On  whose  brightness  we  gaze  every  evening  anew. 

— B.  F.  Taylor. 


58  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

RESPONSE  TO  AN  ADDRESS  OF  WELCOME. 

(Cleveland  O.,  February  fj,  1861.) 

"  In  a  community  like  this,  whose  appearances — 

I    may    say   whose    very    clothes,  whose    well-built 

houses,    whose    numerous   schools,    and    all 

other  evidences  before  me — testify  to  their 

intelligence,  I  am  convinced  that  the  cause  of  liberty 

and  the  Union  can  never  be  in  danger." 


A  HEART  TRUE  TO  THE  WORK. 

(Speech  at  Bitffalo,  N.  Y.,  February  16, 


"  Your  worthy  mayor  has  thought  fit  to  express 

the  hope  that  I  may  be  able  to  relieve  the  country 

from  the  present,  or  I  should  say  the  threat- 

ened, difficulties.     I  am  sure  I  bring  a  heart 

true  to  the  work. 

"  For  the  ability  to  perform  it,  I  trust  in  that  Su- 
preme Being  who  has  never  forsaken  this  favored 
land,  through  the  instrumentality  of  this  great  and 
intelligent  people.  Without  that  assistance  I  should 
surely  fail  ;  with  it  I  cannot  fail." 


Possessing  the  simplicity  of  a  child  and  the  tenderness  of  a  woman, 
he  combined  in  his  make-up  all  the  sterner  qualities  of  a  perfect  man. 
A  close  observer  of  men,  measures,  and  events,  and  to  a  discrimi- 
nating mind  that  led  to  a  correct  judgment,  was  added  a  conscien- 
tiousness of  the  right,  and  a  moral  courage  to  do  it,  that  enabled  him 
to  execute  his  honest  convictions. — F.  £.  Spinner. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  59 

THE  HUMBLEST  OF  ALL  THE 
PRESIDENTS. 

(Speech  to  the  Legislature,  Albany,  N.  V.,  February  18,  1861.} 

"  It    is  true   that,  while   I   hold    myself,  without 

mock  modesty,  the  humblest  of  all  the  individuals 

who  have  ever  been  elected  President  of  the 

United   States,  I   yet  have  a  more  difficult 

task  to  perform   than    any   one   of   them  has  ever 

encountered. 

"  You  have  here  generously  tendered  me  the  sup- 
port, the  united  support,  of  the  great  Empire  State. 
For  this,  in  behalf  of  the  nation  ;  in  behalf  of  the 
present  and  future  of  the  nation  ;  in  behalf  of  the 
cause  of  civil  liberty  in  all  time  to  come,  I  most 
gratefully  thank  you. 

"  I  do  not  propose  now  to  enter  upon  any  expres- 
sions as  to  the  particular  line  of  policy  to  be  adopted 
with  reference  to  the  difficulties  that  stand  before 
us  in  the  opening  of  the  incoming  administration. 

"  I  deem  that  it  is  just  to  the  country,  to  myself, 
to  you,  that  I  should  see  everything,  hear  every- 
thing, and  have  every  light  that  can  possibly  be 
brought  within  my  reach  to  aid  me  before  I  shall 
speak  officially,  in  order  that,  when  I  do  speak,  I 
may  have  the  best  possible  means  of  taking  correct 
and  true  grounds. 

"  I  still  have  confidence  that  the  Almighty  Ruler 

He  had  the  heart  of  a  child  and  the  intellect  of  a  philosopher.  A 
patriot  without  guile,  a  politician  without  cunning  or  selfishness,- 
a  statesman  of  practical  sense  rather  than  fine-spun  theory. — Andrew 
S hum  an. 


60  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

of  the  Universe,  through  the  instrumentality  of  this 
great  and  intelligent  people,  can,  and  will,  bring  us 
through  this  difficulty,  as  He  has  heretofore  brought 
us  through  all  preceding  difficulties  of  the  country." 


WITH  HELP,  HE  WILL  CARRY  THE  SHIP 
OF  STATE  THROUGH  THE  STORM. 

(Response  to  an  address  of  welcome  by  the  Mayor  of  Pough- 
keepsie,  N.  Y.,  February  ip,  iS6i.) 

"  lam  not  sure — I  do  not  pretend  to  be  sure — that 

in  the    selection    of   the   individual   who  has   been 

elected  this  term,  the  wisest  choice  has  been 

made.     I  fear  it  has  not.     In  the  purposes 

and  in  the  principles  that   have  been    sustained,  I 

have  been  the  instrument  selected  to  carry  forward 

the  affairs    of   this   government.     I  can    rely  upon 

you,  and  upon  the  people  of  the  country  ;  and  with 

their  sustaining  hand,  I  think  that  even  I  shall  not 

fail  in  carrying  the  Ship  of  State  through  the  storm." 


STAND  BY  THE  UNION. 

(Reply  to  an  address  of  welcome  by  the  Mayor  of  New  York 
City,  February  20,  iS6i.) 

11  There  is  nothing  that  could  ever  bring  me  to 

willingly  consent  to  the  destruction  of  this  Union, 

under  which  not  only  the  great  commercial 

City  of  New  York,  but  the  whole   country, 

He  was  the  most  perfect  ruler  of  man  the  world  has  ever  seen. — 
Edwin  M.  Stanton. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  6l 

acquired  its  greatness,  except  it  be  the  purpose  for 
which  the  Union  itself  was  formed. 

"  I  understand  the  ship  to  be  made  for  the  carry- 
ing and  the  preservation  of  the  cargo,  and  so  long  as 
the  ship  can  be  saved  with  the  cargo,  it  should  never 
be  abandoned,  unless  there  appears  no  possibility 
of  its  preservation,  and  it  must  cease  to  exist,  except 
at  the  risk  of  throwing  overboard  both  freight  and 
passengers." 


THE  EARLY  AND  COMING  STRUGGLE 
FOR  LIBERTY. 

(Address  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  Trenton,  N.  J., 
February  21,  1861.) 

"  May  I  be  pardoned,  if,  upon  this  occasion,  I 
mention,  that  away  back  in  my  childhood — the 
earliest  days  of  my  being  able  to  read — I  got 
hold  of  a  small  book,  such  a  one  as  few  of 
the  younger  members  have  ever  seen, '  Weems'  Life 
of  Washington  '  ;  I  remember  all  the  accounts  there 
given  of  the  battlefields  and  struggles  for  the 
liberties  of  the  country,  and  none  fixed  themselves 
upon  my  imagination  so  deeply  as  the  struggle  here 
at  Trenton.  The  crossing  of  the  river,  the  contest 
with  the  Hessians,  the  great  hardships  endured  at 
that  time,  all  fixed  themselves  on  my  memory  more 
than  any  single  Revolutionary  event ;  and  you  all 
know,  for  you  have  all  been  boys,  how  these  early 
impressions  last  longer  than  any  other. 

He  has  gone  in  the  supreme  summer  of  his  renown.     The  index 
finger  pointed  to  high  noon  on  the  dial  of  his  fame. — E.  S.  Atwood. 


62  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

"  I   recollect  thinking  then,   boy  even  though    I 

was,  that   there  must  have  been    something  more 

than  common  that  those  men  struggled  for. 

1 86 1 

I  am  exceedingly  anxious  that  that  thing 
which  they  strugguxl  for — that  something  even 
more  than  National  independence,  that  something 
that  held  out  a  great  promise  to  all  the  people  of 
the  world  for  all  time  to  come — I  am  exceedingly 
anxious  that  this  Union,  the  Constitution,  and  the 
liberties  of  the  people,  shall  be  perpetuated  in 
accordance  with  the  original  idea  for  which  that 
struggle  was  made,  and  I  shall  be  most  happy,  indeed, 
if  I  shall  be  an  humble  instrument  in  the  hands  of 
the  Almighty,  and  of  this,  his  most  chosen  people, 
for  perpetuating  the  object  of  the  great  struggle." 


NO  ONE  MORE  DEVOTED  TO  PEACE. 

(Address  in  the  Assembly  Chamber,  Trenton,  N.  J., 
February  21, 1861.) 

"  The  man  does  not  live  who  is  more  devoted  to 
peace    than  I    am — none    who  would  do  more   to 
preserve  it.     But  it  may  be  necessary  to  put 
the  foot  down  firmly.     And  if  I  do  my  duty, 
and    do   right,  you   will  sustain    me,  will   you  not  ? 
Received,  as  I   am,  by  the   members  of  the  Legis- 
lature, the  majority  of  whom  do  not  agree  with  me 
in  political  sentiments,  I  trust  that  I  may  have  their 
assistance  in  piloting  the  Ship  of  State  through  this 

I  believe,  in  all  the  annals  of  our  race,  Abraham  Lincoln  is  the 
finest  example  of  an  unknown  man  rising  from  obscurity  and  ascend- 
ing to  the  loftiest  heights  of  human  grandeur.— James  Speed. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  63 

voyage,  surrounded  by  perils  as  it  is  ;  for  if  it  should 
suffer  shipwreck  now,  there  will  be  no  pilot  ever 
needed  for  another  voyage." 


LIBERTY  FOR  ALL  FUTURE  TIME. 

(Reply  to  an  Address  of  Welcome,  Independence  Hall, 
Philadelphia,  February  22,  1861.) 

"  I  am  filled  with  deep  emotion  at  finding  myself 
standing  here,  in  this  place,  where  were  collected 
the  wisdom,  the  patriotism,  the  devotion  to 
principle,  from  which  sprang  the  institutions 
under  which  we  live.  You  have  kindly  suggested  to 
me  that  in  my  hands  is  the  task  of  restoring  peace 
to  the  present  distracted  condition  of  the  country. 
I  can  say  in  return,  sir,  that  all  the  political  senti- 
ments I  entertain  have  been  drawn,  so  far  as  I  have 
been  able  to  draw  them,  from  the  sentiments  which 
originated  and  were  given  to  the  world  from  this 
hall. 

"  I  have  never  had  a  feeling,  politically,  that  did 
not  spring  from  the  sentiments  embodied  in  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  I  have  often  pondered 
over  the  dangers  which  were  incurred  by  the  men 
who  assembled  here,  and  framed  and  adopted  that 
Declaration  of  Independence.  I  have  pondered 
over  the  toils  that  were  endured  by  the  officers 
and  soldiers  of  the  army  who  achieved  that 
Independence. 

His  strong  common  sense,  undaunted  patriotism,  and  wise  states- 
manship have  left  an  impress  on  our  institutions  which  will  never  be 
effaced  so  long  as  this  is  freedom's  throne. —  W.  O.  Bradley. 


64  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

"  I    have    often    inquired    of    myself   what   great 

principle  or  idea  it  was  that  kept  this  Confederacy 

so    long    together.     It   was    not    the  mere 

matter  of    the    separation   of    the   colonies 

from   the  motherland,  but   that    sentiment    in    the 

Declaration  of    Independence    which  gave    liberty, 

not  alone  to  the  people  of  this  country,  but,  I  hope, 

to  the  world  for  all  future  time. 

"  It  was  that  which  you  promise,  that  in  due  time 
the  weight  would  be  lifted  from  the  shoulders  of 
all  men.  This  is  the  sentiment  embodied  in  the 
Declaration  of  Independence. 

"  Now,  my  friends,  can  this  country  be  saved 
upon  this  basis?  If  it  can,  I  will  consider  myself 
one  of  the  happiest  men  in  the  world  if  I  can  help 
to  save  it.  If  it  cannot  be  saved  upon  that  princi- 
ple, it  will  be  truly  awful.  But  if  this  country  can- 
not be  saved  without  giving  up  that  principle,  I  was 
about  to  say  I  would  rather  be  assassinated  on  this 
spot  than  surrender  it." 


"ADD  STAR  UPON  STAR." 

(Remarks  when  he  raised  a  new  flag  over  Independence  Hall, 
Philadelphia,  February  22,  1861.) 

"  It  is  on  such  an  occasion  as  this  that  we  can 
reason  together — reaffirm  our  devotion  to  the  coun- 
try and  the  principles  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence.     Let  us  make  up  our  mind 
that  when  we  do  put  a  new  star  upon  our  banner, 

It  is   my   humble  judgment    that    in    all   the  positions  the  great 
crisis  forced  him  into,  he  was  a  perfect  fit.—/.  M.  Bailey. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  65 

it  shall  be  a  fixed  one,  never  to  be  dimmed  by  the 
horrors  of  war,  but  brightened  by  the  contentment 
and  prosperity  of  peace. 

"  Let  us  go  on  to  extend  the  area  of  our  useful- 
ness, add  star  upon  star ;  until  their  light  shall  shine 
upon  five  hundred  millions  of  a  free  and  happy 
people." 


" THE    FLAG    MAY    STILL    BE    KEPT 
FLAUNTING    GLORIOUSLY." 

(Address  to  the  Legislature,  Harrisburg,  February  22,  1861?) 

"  I  have  already  gone  through  one  exceedingly 
interesting  scene  this  morning,  in  the  ceremonies  at 
Philadelphia.  I  was  for  the  first  time  allowed 
the  privilege  of  standing  in  Old  Independ- 
ence Hall,  to  have  a  few  words  addressed  to  me 
there,  and  opening  up  to  me  an  opportunity  of 
expressing,  with  much  regret,  that  I  had  not  more 
time  to  express  something  of  my  own  feelings 
excited  by  that  occasion,  somewhat  to  harmonize 
and  give  shape  to  the  feelings  that  had  been  really 
the  feelings  of  my  whole  life. 

"  Besides  this,  my  friends  there  had  provided  a 
magnificent  flag  of  the  country.  They  had  arranged 
it  so  that  I  was  given  the  honor  of  raising  it  to  the 
head  of  its  staff.  And  when  it  went  up  I  was 
pleased  that  it  went  up  to  its  place  by  the  strength 
of  my  own  feeble  arm.  When,  according  to  the 

His  sense  of  humor  was  as  logical  as  his  mind  was  clear  and  his 
heart  generous. — S.  S.  Cox. 


66  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

arrangement,  the  cord  was  pulled,  and  it  floated 
gloriously  to  the  wind  without  an  accident,  in  the 
light,  glowing  sunshine  of  the  morning,  I  could  not 
help  hoping  that  there  was  in  the  entire  success  of 
that  beautiful  ceremony  at  least  something  of  an 
omen  of  what  is  to  come.  How  could  I  help  feel- 
ing then,  as  I  often  have  felt,  in  the  whole  of  that 
proceeding  I  was  a  very  humble  instrument  ? 

"  I  had  not  provided  the  flag ;  I  had  not  made 
the  arrangements  for  elevating  it  to  its  place.  I 
had  applied  but  a  very  small  portion  of  my  feeble 
strength  in  raising  it.  In  the  whole  transaction  I 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  people  who  had  arranged  it. 
And  if  I  can  have  the  same  generous  co-operation 
of  the  people  of  the  nation,  I  think  the  flag  of  our 
country  may  still  be  kept  flaunting  gloriously." 


ARRIVAL  IN  WASHINGTON. 

Mr.  Lincoln  arrived  in  Washington,  February  23, 
1861.  On  the  2/th  he  responded  to  an  address 
of  welcome  by  the  mayor,  James  G.  Berrett,  in 
Willard's  Hotel,  as  follows : 

"  I  will  take  this  occasion  to  say  that  I  think  very 
much  of  the  ill-feeling  that  has  existed,  and  still 

exists,    between  the  people  in  the  sections 
1861      . 

trom   whence   1  came   and  the   people  here, 

is  dependent  upon  a  misunderstanding  of  one 
another.  I  therefore  avail  myself  of  this  oppor- 
tunity to  assure  you,  Mr.  Mayor,  and  all  the  gentle- 

The  purity  of  his  patriotism  inspired  him  with   the  wisdom  of  a 
statesman  and  the  courage  of  a  martyr. — Stanley  Matthews. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  67 

men  present,  that  I  have  not  now,  and  never  have 
had,  any  other  than  as  kindly  feelings  toward  you  as 
the  people  of  my  own  section.  I  have  not  now,  and 
never  have  had,  any  disposition  to  treat  you  in  any 
respect  otherwise  than  as  my  own  neighbors.  I 
have  not  now  any  purpose  to  withhold  from  you 
any  of  the  benefits  of  the  Constitution,  under  any 
circumstances,  that  I  would  not  feel  myself  con- 
strained to  withhold  from  my  neighbors ;  and  I 
hope,  in  a  word,  that  when  we  shall  become  better 
acquainted,  and  I  say  it  with  great  confidence,  we 
shall  like  each  other  the  more." 


HIS     PECULIAR     POSITION     AT     THE 
CAPITAL. 

(An   address   to   the  Republican    Association    at    Willard"s> 
Hotel,  February  28,  1861.} 

"  I  have  reached   the  City  of  Washington  under 

circumstances    considerably    differing     from    those 

under  which  any  other  man  has  ever  reached 

it.     I  am  here  for  the  purpose  of  taking  an 

official    position  among   the    people,   almost    all  of 

whom  were  politically  opposed  to  me,  and  are  yet 

opposed  to  me,  as  I  suppose.     I  hope  that,  if  things 

shall  go  along  as  prosperously  as  I  believe  we  all 

desire    they   may,   I  may  have  it  in    my  power   to 

remove  something  of  this  misunderstanding." 

President  Lincoln's  Gettysburg  address  was  the  high-water  mark  of 
American  oratory. —  Thos,   Wentworth  Higginson. 


68  WORDS  OF  LINCOLN. 

FIRST   INAUGURAL   ADDRESS,    MARCH 
4,  1861. 

"  Apprehension  seems  to  exist  among  the  people 
of  the  Southern  States,  that  by  the  occasion  of  a 
Republican  administration,  their  property 
and  their  peace  and  personal  security  are  to 
be  endangered.  There  has  never  been  any  reason- 
able cause  for  such  apprehension.  Indeed,  the  most 
ample  evidence  to  the  contrary  has  all  the  while 
existed,  and  been  open  to  their  inspection*.  It  is 
found  in  nearly  all  the  published  speeches  of  him 
who  now  addresses  you. 

"  I  do  but  quote  from  one  of  those  speeches, 
when  I  declared  that  *  I  have  no  purpose,  directly 
or  indirectly,  to  interfere  with  the  institution  of 
slavery,  in  the  States  where  it  exists.' 

"•I  believe  I  have  no  lawful  right  to  do  so, 
and  I  have  no  inclination  to  do  so.  Those  who 
nominated  and  elected  me  did  so  with  the  full 
knowledge  that  I  had  made  this  and  many  similar 
declarations,  and  had  never  recanted  them.  I 
now  reiterate  these  sentiments,  and  in  doing  so, 
I  only  press  upon  the  public  attention  the  most  con- 
clusive evidence  of  which  the  case  is  susceptible, 
that  the  property,  peace,  and  security  of  no  section 
are  to  be  in  any  wise  endangered  by  the  now 
incoming  administration. 

Of  all  the  rulers  of  the  earth,  no  other  one  has  ever  been  borne  to 
the  tomb  amid  such  extensive  preparations  to  do  him  honor.  His 
funeral  procession  may  be  said  to  have  been  more  than  one  thousand 
miles  long. —  W.  R.  Gordon. 


Photos  by  Coe,  Washington. 
U.    S.    CAPITOL   AND    WHITE    HOUSE. 


WORDS  OF  LINCOLN.  69 

I  take  the  official  oath  to-day  with  no  mental 
reservations,  and  with  no  purpose  to  construe  the 
Constitution  or  laws  by  any  hypercritical  rules; 
and,  while  I  do  not  choose  now  to  specify  partic- 
lar  acts  of  Congress  as  proper  to  be  enforced,  I 
do  suggest  that  it  will  be  much  safer  for  all,  both 
in  official  and  private  stations,  to  conform  to  and 
abide  by  all  those  acts  which  stand  unrepealed, 
than  to  violate  any  of  them,  trusting  to  find  im- 
punity in  having  them  held  to  be  unconstitutional. 

"  It  is  seventy-two  years  since  the  first  inaugu- 
ration of  a  president  under  our  national  constitu- 
tion. During  that  period,  fifteen  different 
and  very  distinguished  citizens  have  in  suc- 
cession administered  the  executive  branch  of  the 
government.  They  have  conducted  it  through 
many  perils,  and  generally  with  great  success. 
Yet,  with  this  scope  for  precedent,  I  now  enter 
upon  the  same  task,  for  the  brief  constitutional 
term  of  four  years,  under  great  and  peculiar 
difficulties. 

"  I  hold,  that  in  the  contemplation  of  universal 
law  and  the  Constitution,  the  union  of  these  States 
is  perpetual.  Perpetuity  is  implied,  if  not  ex- 
pressed, in  the  fundamental  law  of  all  national 
governments.  It  is  safe  to  assert  that  no  govern- 
ment proper  ever  had  a  provision  in  its  organic 
law  for  its  own  termination.  Continue  to  execute 
all  the  express  provisions  of  our  national  Consti- 
tution, and  the  Union  will  endure  forever. 

The  Cooper  Institute  speech  of  Mr.  Lincoln  is  one  of  the  purest 
specimens  of  composition  in  Saxon  words  to  be  found  in  the  English 
language. — Leonard  Bacon. 


7O  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

"To  those,  however,  who  really  love  the  Union 
may  I  not  speak?  Before,  entering  upon  so  grave 
a  matter  as  the  destruction  of  our  national 
fabric,  with  all  its  benefits,  its  memories, 
and  its  hopes,  would  it  not  be  well  to  ascertain  why 
we  do  it  ?  Will  you  hazard  so  desperate  a  step 
while  any  portion  of  the  ills  you  fly  from  have  no 
real  existence  ?  Will  you,  while  the  certain  ills 
you  fly  to  are  greater  than  all  the  real  ones  you 
fly  from  ?  Will  you  risk  the  commission  of  so 
fearful  a  mistake  ? 

"  All  profess  to  be  content  in  the  Union  if  all 
constitutional  rights  can  be  maintained.  Is  it  true, 
then,  that  any  right  plainly  written  in  the  Consti- 
tution has  been  denied  ?  I  think  not.  Happily, 
the  human  mind  is  so  constituted  that  no  party 
can  reach  to  the  audacity  of  doing  this. 

"  All  the  vital  rights  of  minorities  and  of  indi- 
viduals are  so  plainly  assured  to  them  by  affirma- 
tions and  negations,  guarantees  and  prohibitions, 
in  the  Constitution,  that  controversies  never  arise 
concerning  them.  But  no  organic  law  can  ever 
be  framed  with  a  provision  specifically  applicable 
to  every  question  which  may  occur  in  practical 
administration.  No  foresight  can  anticipate,  nor 
any  document  of  reasonable  length  contain,  express 
provision  for  all  possible  questions. 

"  Shall  fugitives    from    labor   be    surrendered  by 

The  common  people,  from  whom  he  sprang,  and  for  whom  he 
labored,  and  with  whom  he  was  identified,  and  who  placed  him  in 
power,  will  guard  his  name  with  sleepless  vigilance,  and  will  point 
their  posterity  to  his  grave  as  the  shrine  or  American  freedom. — 
B.  F.  Bradford. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  7 1 

National  or  by  State  authority?  The  Constitution 
does  not  expressly  say.  Must  Congress  pro- 
tect slavery  in  the  Territories?  The  Consti- 
tution does  not  expressly  say. 

"  From  questions  of  this  class  spring  all  our  con- 
stitutional controversies,  and  we  divide  upon  them 
into  majorities  and  minorities.  If  the  minority  will 
not  acquiesce,  the  majority  must,  or  the  government 
must  cease.  There  is  no  alternative  for  continuing 
the  government  but  acquiescence  on  the  one  side  or 
the  other. 

"If  the  minority  will  secede  rather  than  ac- 
quiesce, they  make  a  precedent  which,  in  turn,  will 
ruin  and  divide  them  ;  for  a  minority  of  their 
own  will  secede  from  them  whenever  a  majority 
refuses  to  be  controlled  by  such  a  minority.  For 
instance,  why  should  not  any  portion  of  a  new  con- 
federacy, a  year  or  two  hence,  arbitrarily  secede 
again,  precisely  as  portions  of  the  present  Union 
now  claim  to  secede  from  it  ? 

"  All  who  cherish  disunion  sentiments  are  now 
being  educated  to  the  exact  temper  of  doing  this. 
Is  there  such  perfect  identity  of  interest  among  the 
States  to  compose  a  new  union  as  to  produce  har- 
mony only,  and  prevent  renewed  secession?  Plainly, 
the  central  idea  of  secession  is  the  essence  of 
anarchy. 

"  Physically   speaking,   .we   cannot   separate ;    we 

While  the  ship  of  state  was  buffeting  the  fiercest  storms,  he  stood 
calm  as  Columbus,  disregarding  the  clamors  of  the  discontented,  and, 
with  compass  in  hand,  measured  with  steady  glance  wind  and  sail, 
and  steered  toward  the  peaceful  haven  of  union  and  freedom. — 
Hugo  Krebs. 


72  WORDS  OF  LINCOLN. 

cannot  move  our  respective  sections  from  each 
other,  nor  build  an  impassable  wall  between  them. 
A  husband  and  wife  may  be  divorced,  and  go  out  of 
the  presence  and  beyond  the  reach  of  each  other ; 
but  the  different  parts  of  our  country  cannot  do 
this.  They  cannot  but  remain  face  to  face  ;  and  in- 
tercourse, either  amicable  or  hostile,  must  continue 
between  them. 

"  Is  it  possible,  then,  to  make  that  intercourse 
more  advantageous  or  more  satisfactory  after  sepa- 
ration than  before?  Suppose  you  go  to  war,  you 
cannot  fight  always ;  and  when,  after  much  loss  on 
both  sides,  and  no  gain  on  either,  you  cease  fight- 
ing, the  identical  questions  as  to  terms  of  inter- 
course are  again  upon  you. 

"Why  should  there  not  be  a  patient  confidence 
in  the  ultimate  justice  of  the  people?  Is  there  any 
better  or  equal  hope  in  the  world  ?  In  our 
present  differences,  is  either  party  without 
faith  of  being  in  the  right?  If  the  Almighty  Ruler 
of  Nations,  with  His  eternal  truth  and  justice,  be  on 
your  side  of  the  North,  or  on  your  side  of  the 
South,  that  truth  and  that  justice  will  surely  prevail 
by  the  judgment  of  this  great  tribunal-^-the  Amer- 
ican people. 

"  My  countrymen,  one  and  all,  think  calmly 
and  well  upon  this  whole  subject.  Nothing  valu- 
able can  be  lost  by  taking  time.  If  there  be 
an  object  to  hurry  any  of  you,  in  hot  haste,  to  a 
step  which  you  would  never  take  deliberately,  that 

He  was  not  an  orator,  and  yet  where  in  the  English  language  can 
be  found  eloquence  of  higher  tone  or  more  magnetic  power  than  his 
Gettysburg  speech  ? — Hugh  McCullough. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  73 

object  will  be  frustrated  by  taking  time ;  but  no 
good  object  can  be  frustrated  by  it.  Such  of  you 
as  are  now  dissatisfied  still  have  the  old  Constitution 
unimpaired,  and,  on  the  sensitive  point,  the  laws  of 
your  own  framing  under  it ;  while  the  new  adminis- 
tration will  have  no  immediate  power,  if  it  would,  to 
change  it. 

"  If  it  were  admitted  that  you  who  are  dissatisfied 
hold  the  right  side  in  the  dispute,  there  is  still  no 
single  reason  for  precipitate  action.  Intelligence, 
patriotism,  Christianity,  and  a  firm  reliance  on  Him 
who  has  never  yet  forsaken  this  favored  land,  are 
still  competent  to  adjust,  in  the  best  way,  all  our 
present  difficulties. 

"  In  your  hands,   my  dissatisfied   fellow-country- 
men, and   not  in  mine,   is  the  momentous 

1861     .  r    •   -i 

issue  of  civil  war. 

"  The  government  will  not  assail  you  ;  you  can 
have  no  conflict  without  being  yourselves  the 
aggressors. 

"  You  can  have  no  oath  registered  in  heaven  to 
destroy  the  government ;  while  I  shall  have  the 
most  solemn  one  to  '  preserve,  protect,  and  de- 
fend '  it. 

"  I  am  loath  to  close.  We  are  not  enemies,  but 
friends.  We  must  not  be  enemies.  Though  pas- 
sion may  have  strained,  it  must  not  break,  our  bonds 
of  affection. 

"  The  mystic  chords  of  memory,  stretching  from 
every  battlefield  and  patriot  grave  to  every  living 

Abraham  Lincoln  will  be  honored  by  a  grateful  posterity  as  the 
directing  and  representative  mind  in  the  pregnant  epoch  of  history. — 
James  W '.  Patterson. 


74  WORDS   OF  LINCOLN. 

heart  and  hearthstone  all  over  this  broad  land,  will 
yet  swell  the  chorus  of  the  Union  when  again 
touched,  as  surely  they  will  be,  by  the  better  angels 
of  our  nature." 


"ALL  HONOR  TO   JEFFERSON." 

{Letter,  April  6,  1861,  replying  to  an  invitation  from  the 
Republicans  of  Boston  to  attend  a  festival  in  honor  of  the 
anniversary  of  Jefferson's  birthday.} 

"  All  honor  to  Jefferson  ;  to  a  man  who,  in  the 
concrete  pressure  of   a  struggle    for  national  inde- 
pendence by  a  single  people,  had  the  cool- 
ness,  forecast,    and    capacity   to    introduce 
into  a  merely  revolutionary  document  an  abstract 
truth,  applicable  to  all  men  and  all  times,  and  so  to 
embalm  it  there,  that  to-day  and  in  all  coming  days 
it  shall  be  a  rebuke  and  a  stumbling-block  to  the 
harbingers  of  reappearing  tyranny  and  oppression  !  " 


PRESERVING   THE    PEACE  OF 
MARYLAND. 

(Message  to  the  Governor,  April  20,  1861.) 

"  I  desire  to  consult  with  you  and  the  mayor  of 
Baltimore  relative  to  preserving  the  peace 
of  Maryland.  Please  come  immediately." 

A  legion  of  politicians  might  beset  him  and  urge  him  to  effort,  but 
having  heard  them  all,  he  would  take  counsel  of  his  conscience,  and 
perhaps  still  remain  inactive.  He  would  do  nothing,  unless  he  could 
see  clearly  what  it  was  right  to  do. — Albert  S.  Hunt. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  75 

"  HAD  NO  MORAL  RIGHT  TO  SHRINK." 

(First  annual  message  to  the  extra  session  of  Congress, 
July  4, 1861.) 

"As   a   private  citizen    the  Executive  could  not 

have  consented  that  these  institutions  shall  perish  ; 

much   less  could   he   in   betrayal  of   so   vast 

and  so  sacred  a  trust  as  these  free  people 

have   confided    to   him.     He    felt    that   he  had    no 

moral  right  to  shrink,  or  even  to  count  the  chances 

of  his  own  life,  in  what  might  follow. 

"  In  full  view  of  his  great  responsibility  he  has 
so  far  done  what  he  has  deemed  his  duty.  You  will 
now,  according  to  your  own  judgment,  perform 
yours.  He  sincerely  hopes  that  your  views  and 
your  action  may  so  accord  with  his,  as  to  assure  all 
faithful  citizens  who  have  been  disturbed  in  their 
rights,  of  a  certain  and  speedy  restoration  of  them 
under  the  Constitution  and  the  laws.  And  having 
thus  chosen  our  course,  without  guile  and  with  pure 
purpose,  let  us  renew  our  trust  in  God,  and  go  for- 
ward without  fear  and  with  manly  hearts." 


RECRUITING  NORTH  CAROLINIANS. 

(Letter  to  Lieutenant-General  Winfield  Scott, 
September  16, 1861.) 

"  Since  conversing  with  you  I  have  concluded  to 

request  you  to  frame  an  order  for  recruiting  North 

Carolinians  at  Fort  Hatteras.     I   suggest  it 

be  so  framed  as  for  us  to  accept  a  smaller 

Too  much  cannot  be  done  to  preserve  the  memory  and  deepen  the 
moral  impression  of  a  man  like  Lincoln.  —  O.  B.  Frothingham. 


76  WORDS  OF   LINCOLN. 

force — even  a  company — if  we  cannot  get  a  regi- 
ment or  more.  What  is  necessary  to  now  say  about 
officers,  you  will  judge.  Governor  Seward  says  he 
has  a  nephew  (Clarence  A.  Seward,  I  believe)  who 
would  be  willing  to  go  and  play  colonel  and  assist 
in  raising  the  force ;  still,  it  is  to  be  considered 
whether  the  North  Carolinians  will  not  prefer 
officers  of  their  own.  I  should  expect  they  would." 


LETTER   TO   MAJOR-GENERAL   DAVID 
HUNTER,  OCTOBER  24,  1861. 

"  I    propose    to    offer    you    a    few    suggestions. 
Knowing  how  hazardous  it  is  to  bind  down  a  dis- 
tant commander  in  the  field  to  specific  lines 
and  operations,  as  so  much  always  depends 
on  a  knowledge  of  locations  and  passing  events,  it  is 
intended,  therefore,  to   leave   considerable   margin 
for  the  exercise  of  your  judgment  and  discretion." 


LABOR  THE  SUPERIOR  OF  CAPITAL. 

(Message  to  Congress,  December  j,  1861.) 

"  Labor   is   prior  to  and  independent  of  capital. 

Capital  is  only  the  fruit  of  labor,  and  could  never 

have  existed  if  labor  had  not  first  existed. 

Labor     is    the     superior     of     capital,    and 

He  was  sacrificed,  but  his  martyrdom  gave  emphasis  to  the  living 
principles  embodied  in -our  American  Constitution,  as  the  lifting  up 
of  Christ  elevated  the  principles  it  was  his  mission  to  establish. — 
Richard  Smith. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  // 

deserves  much  the  higher  consideration.  Capital 
has  its  rights,  which  are  as  worthy  of  protection  as 
any  rights,  nor  is  it  denied  that  there  is,  and  prob- 
ably always  will  be,  a  relation  between  labor  and 
capital,  producing  mutual  benefits. 

"The  prudent,  penniless  beginner  in  the  world 
labors  for  wages  a  while,  saves  a  surplus  with  which 
to  buy  tools  or  land  for  himself,  then  labors  on  his 
own  account  another  while,  and  at  length  hires 
another  new  beginner  to  help  him. 

"This  is  the  just,  and  generous,  and  prosperous 
system,  which  opens  the  way  to  all,  gives  hope 
to  all,  and  consequent  energy,  and  progress,  and 
improvement  of  condition  to  all.  No  men  living 
are  more  worthy  to  be  trusted  than  those  who  toil 
up  from  poverty — none  less  inclined  to  take  or 
touch  aught  which  they  have  not  honestly  earned. 

"  Let  them  beware  of  surrendering  a  political 
power  which  they  already  possess,  and  which,  if  sur- 
rendered, will  surely  be  used  to  close  the  door  of 
advancement  against  such  as  they,  and  to  fix  new 
disabilities  and  burdens  upon  them,  till  all  of  liberty 
shall  be  lost. 

"  The   struggle    of   to-day   is   not  altogether   for 

to-day  ;  it  is  for  a  vast  future  also.     With  a 

reliance  on  Providence,  all  the  more  firm  and 

earnest,  let  us  proceed  in  the  great  task  which  events 

have  devolved  upon  us." 

Born  of  the  people,  well  he  knew  to  grasp 

The  wants  and  wishes  of  the  weak  and  small  ; 

Therefore  we  hold  him  with  no  shadowy  clasp. 
Therefore  his  name  is  household  to  us  all. 

— Alice  Cary. 


78  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

LETTER   TO   GENERAL   DON    CARLOS 
BUELL,  JANUARY   6,  1862. 

"  Your  dispatch  of  yesterday  has  been  received, 
and  ^disappoints  and  distresses  me.  I  am  not  com- 
petent to  criticise  your  views,  and  therefore 
what  I  offer  is  merely  in  justification  of 
myself.  Of  the  two,  I  would  rather  have  a  point 
on  the  railroad  south  of  Cumberland  Gap  than 
Nashville  ;  first,  because  it  cuts  a  great  artery  of 
the  enemy's  communication,  which  Nashville  does 
not ;  and  secondly,  because  it  is  in  the  midst  of 
loyal  people,  who  would  rally  around  it,  while  Nash- 
ville is  not.  I  do  not  intend  this  to  be  an  order  in 
any  sense,  but  merely,  as  intimated  before,  to  show 
you  the  grounds  of  my  anxiety." 


LETTER    TO    GENERAL    GEORGE    B. 
McCLELLAN,  APRIL  9,  1862. 

"  I  beg  to  assure  you  that  I  have  never  written  or 
spoken   to  you  in  greater  kindness  of  feeling  than 

now,  nor   with   a    fuller  purpose   to  sustain 
1862 

you  so  far  as  in  my  most  anxious  judgment 

I  consistently  can." 


Grandly  and  alone  he  walked  bis  way  through  this  life,  and  the 
world  had  no  honors,  no  emoluments,  no  reproaches,  no  shames,  no 
punishments  which  he  could  not  have  borne  without  swerving  or  bias. 
— -Jane  Grey  Sivissholm. 


WORDS   OF    LINCOLN.  79 

BILL  ABOLISHING  SLAVERY  IN  THE  DIS- 
TRICT OF  COLUMBIA. 

(Message  to  Congress,  April  16,  1862,  approving  the  dill.) 

"  I  have  never  doubted  the  constitutional  author- 
ity of  Congress  to  abolish  slavery  in  this  District ; 
and  I  have  ever  desired  to  see  the  national 
capital  freed   from  the  institution  in  some 
satisfactory  way." 

GRADUAL    EMANCIPATION— COMPEN- 
SATION FOR  THE  SLAVES. 

(Conference  with  the  members  of  Congress  from  the  border 
slave  States,  July  12,  1862.) 

"  If   the    war   continues   long,   as    it  must  if  the 

object    be    not   sooner   attained,  the   institution   in 

your  States  will  be    extinguished   by   mere 

friction  and  abrasion — by  the  mere  incidents 

of  the   war.     It   will    be    gone,  and    you    will  have 

nothing  valuable  in  lieu  of  it.     Much  of  its  value  is 

gone  already. 

"  How  much  better  for  you  and  for  your  people 
to  take  the  step  which  at  once  shortens  the  war, 
and  secures  substantial  compensation  for  that 
which  is  sure  to  be  wholly  lost  in  any  other 
event ! 

For  my  single  self,  I  have  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  regarded  Mr. 
Lincoln  as  the  finest  lawyer  I  ever  knew,  entitling  him  to  be  pre- 
sented to  the  profession  as  a  model  well  worthy  of  the  closest  imita- 
tion.— Sidney  Breece. 


80  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

"  How  much  better  to  thus  save  the  money  which 
else  we  sink  forever  in  the  war ! 

"  How  much  better  to  do  it  while  we  can,  lest  the 
war  ere  long  renders  us  pecuniarily  unable  to  do  it  ! 

"  How  much  better  for  you,  as  seller,  and  the 
nation,  as  buyer,  to  sell  out  and  buy  out  that  with- 
out which  the  war  could  never  have  been,  than  to 
sink  both  the  thing  to  be  sold  and  the  price  of  it  in 
cutting  one  another's  throats  !  I  do  not  speak  of 
emancipation  at  once,  but  of  a  decision  at  once  to 
emancipate  gradually." 


"DEPENDENCE  UPON  THE  FAVOR  OF 
GOD." 

(Reply  to  a  committee  from  the   Lutheran   General  Synod, 
May  /,  1862.) 

"  You  all  may  recollect  that  in  taking  up  the 
sword  forced  into  our  hands,  this  government 
appealed  to  the  prayers  of  the  pious  and  the 
good,  and  declared  that  it  placed  its  whole 
dependence  upon  the  favor  of  God.  I  now  humbly 
and  reverently,  in  your  presence,  reiterate  the 
acknowledgment  of  that  dependence,  not  doubting 
that  if  it  shall  please  the  divine  Being  who  deter- 
mines the  destinies  of  nations,  that  this  shall  remain 
a  united  people,  they  will,  humbly  seeking  the 
divine  guidance,  make  their  prolonged  national 

Rough-hewn  indeed,  and  unschooled  in  diplomatic  phrase  and 
usage,  yet  never  losing  sympathy  with  the  people  from  whom  he 
sprung,  and  so  always  able  to  speak  and  write  the  mind  and  heart  of 
the  people. — Edwin  A.  Buckley. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  8 1 

existence  a  source  of  new  benefits  to  themselves  and 
their  successors,  and  to  all  classes  and  conditions  of 
mankind." 


"  I  SHALL  ENDEAVOR  TO  DO  MY  DUTY." 

(Reply  to  a  resolution  of  the  East  Baltimore  Methodist  Con- 
ference of  1862,) 

"  These  kind  words  of  approval,  coming  from  so 

numerous   a  body  of  intelligent  Christian    people, 

and  so  free  from  all  suspicion  of  sinister  motives,  are 

indeed  encouraging  to  me.     By  the  help  of 

an  all-wise  Providence,  I  shall   endeavor  to 

do  my  duty,  and  I  shall   expect  the  continuance  of 

your   prayers    for  a   right   solution  of   our  national 

difficulties,  and   the   restoration   of   our   country  to 

peace  and  prosperity." 


"I  SHALL  DO  NOTHING  IN  MALICE." 

(Letter  to  Gut  berth  Bullet  t  of  New  Orleans,  July  28,  1862^ 

"  I  am  in  no  boastful  mood.     I  shall  not  do  more 
than  I  can,  but  shall  do  all  I  can  to  save  the  govern- 
ment; which  is  my  sworn  duty  as  well  as  my 

1862  T  1          11        1  1      • 

personal  inclination.  I  shall  do  nothing  in 
malice.  What  I  deal  with  is  too  vast  for  malicious 
dealings." 

As  the  ship  in  heavy  seas  feels  the  tremendous  strain  in  every  tim- 
ber, and  is  strained  in  all  her  cordage,  so  did  the  President-elect 
realize,  in  anticipation,  the  possible  perils  of  his  position  when  leav- 
ing his  peaceful  home  in  the  West. — -J.  L.  Jancway. 


82  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

DEFENDS  THE  SECRETARY  OF  WAR. 

(Remarks  at  a  war  meeting,  Washington,  August  6,  1862.) 

"  General  McClellan  has  sometimes  asked  for 
things  that  the  Secretary  of  War  did  not  give  him. 
General  McClellan  is  not  to  blame  for  asking 
what  he  wanted  and  needed,  and  the  Secre- 
tary of  War  is  not  to  blame  for  not  giving  when  he 
had  none  to  give.  And  I  say  here,  as  far  as  I  know, 
the  Secretary  of  War  has  withheld  no  one  thing 
at  any  time  in  my  power  to  give  him.  I  have  no 
accusation  against  him.  I  believe  he  is  a  brave  and 
able  man,  and  I  stand  here,  as  justice  requires  me 
to  do,  to  take  upon  myself  what  has  been  charged 
on  the  Secretary  of  War,  as  withholding  from  him." 


"  WILLING  TO  ACT  THOUGH  IT  COSTS 
MY  LIFE." 

(Reply  to   M.  D.  Conivay,  and  a  friend,  who   implored  Mr. 
Lincoln  to  emancipate  the  slaves.) 

11  We   grow  in  this  direction  daily,  and   I  am  not 
without  hope  that   some  great  thing  is  to  be  accom- 
plished.    When    the    hour  comes   for  deal- 
ing with  slavery,  I  trust  I  shall  be  willing  to 
act  though   it   costs  my  life  ;  and,  gentlemen,  lives 
will  be  lost" 


He  will  stand  in  the  memory  of  the  world  among  the  most  for- 
bearing, kindly,  and  gentle,  whose  generosity  toward  the  most  bitter 
foes  is  without  a  parallel  among  successful  rulers  and  conquerors. — 
Warren  Hathaivay. 


WORDS  OF  LINCOLN.  83 

"MY  PARAMOUNT  OBJECT  IS  TO  SAVE 
THE  UNION." 

(Reply  to  an  editorial  of  complaint  in  the  N.  Y.  Tribune,  by 
Horace  Greeley,  August  19, 


"  My  paramount  object  is  to  save  the  Union,  and 
not  either  to  save  or  to  destroy  slavery.  If  I  could 
save  the  Union  without  freeing  any  slave,  I 
would  do  it.  If  I  could  save  it  by  freeing 
all  the  slaves,  I  would  do'  it  ;  and  if  I  could  do  it  by 
freeing  some  and  leaving  others  alone,  I  would  also 
do  that.  What  I  do  about  slavery  and  the  colored 
race,  I  do  because  I  believe  it  helps  to  save  this 
Union  :  and  what  I  forbear,  I  forbear  because  I  do 
not  believe  it  would  help  to  save  the  Union.  I  shall 
do  less  whenever  I  shall  believe  what  I  am  doing 
hurts  the  cause,  and  I  shall  do  more  whenever  I 
believe  doing  more  will  help  the  cause." 


"  WHATEVER   APPEARS  TO  BE  GOD'S 
WILL,  I  WILL  DO  IT." 

(Reply  to  a  deputation  from  all  religious  denominations  of 
Chicago,  September  ij,  1862.) 

"  I  hope   it  will  not  be   irreverent  for  me  to  say 

that  if  it  is  probable  that  God  would  reveal  His  will 

to  others  on  a  point  so  connected  with  my 

duty,  it  might  be  supposed  He  would  reveal 

His  character  and  service  to  this  country  will  stand  as  a  monument 
long  after  the  granite  monuments  erected  to  his  memory  have  crum- 
bled in  the  dust. —  Thomas  A.  Edison. 


84  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

it  directly  to  me ;  for,  unless  I  am  more  deceived  in 
myself  than  I  often  am,  it  is  my  earnest  desire  to 
know  the  will  of  Providence  in  this  matter.  And  if 
I  can  learn  what  it  is  I  will  do  it. 

"  These  are  not,  however,  the  days  of  miracles, 
and  I  suppose  it  will  be  granted  that  I  am  not  to 
expect  a  direct  revelation.  I  must  study  the  plain 
physical  facts  of  the  case,  ascertain  what  is  possible, 
and  learn  what  appears  to  be  wise  and  right.  What- 
ever appears  to  be  God's  will  I  will  do  it." 


READING  THE  EMANCIPATION  PROCLAM- 
ATION TO  HIS  CABINET. 

{Remarks  at  the  meeting,  September  22,  1862^ 

"  GENTLEMEN  :  I  have,  as  you  are  aware,  thought 
a  great  deal  about  the  relation  of  this  war  to  slav- 
ery, and  you  all  remember  that  several 
weeks  ago  I  read  to  you  an  order  that  I  had 
prepared  upon  the  subject,  which,  on  account  of 
objections  made  by  some  of  you,  was  not  issued. 
Ever  since  then  my  mind  has  been  much  occupied 
with  this  subject,  and  I  have  thought  all  along  that 
the  time  for  acting  on  it  might  probably  come. 

"  I  think  the  time  has  come  now ;  I  wish  it  was  a 
better  time.  I  wish  that  we  were  in  a  better  condi- 
tion. The  action  of  the  army  against  the  rebels 
has  not  been  quite  what  I  should  have  best  liked, 

: j 

Not  a  sovereign  in  Europe,  however  trained  from  the  cradle  for 
state  pomps,  and  however  prompted  by  statesmen  and  courtiers, 
could  have  uttered  himself  more  regally  than  did  Lincoln  at 
Gettysburg. — Goldwin  Smith. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN   AND    HIS    PRIVATE    SECRETARIES, 
NICOLAY    AND    HAY. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  85 

but  they  have  been  driven  out  of  Maryland,  and 
Pennsylvania  is  no  longer  in  danger  of  invasion. 

"  When  the  rebel  army  was  at  Frederick,  I  deter- 
mined, as  soon  as  it  should  be  driven  out  of  Mary- 
land, to  issue  a  proclamation  of  emancipation,  such 
as  I  thought  most  likely  to  be  useful.  I  said  nothing 
to  anyone,  but  I  made  a  promise  to  myself  and, 
hesitating  a  little,  to  my  Maker. 

"  The  rebel  army  is  now  driven  out,  and  I  am 
going  to  fulfill  that  promise.  I  have  got  you  to- 
gether to  hear  what  I  have  written  down.  I  do  not 
wish  your  advice  about  the  main  matter,  for  that  I 
have  determined  for  myself.  This  I  say  without  in- 
tending anything  but  respect  for  any  one  of  you. 
But  I  already  know  the  views  of  each  on  this  ques- 
tion. They  have  been  heretofore  expressed,  and  I 
have  considered  them  as  thoroughly  and  carefully 
as  I  can.  What  I  have  written  is  that  which  my 
reflections  have  determined  me  to  say.  If  there  is 
anything  in  the  expressions  I  use,  or  in  any  minor 
matter  which  any  one  of  you  think  had  best  be 
changed,  I  shall  be  glad  to  receive  your  suggestions. 

"  One  other  observation  I  will  make.  I  know 
very  well  that  many  others  might,  in  this  matter  as 
in  others,  do  better  than  I  can ;  and  if  I  was  satisfied 
that  the  public  confidence  was  more  fully  possessed 
by  any  one  of  them  than  by  me,  and  knew  of  any 
constitutional  way  in  which  he  could  be  put  in  my 
place,  he  should  have  it.  I  would  gladly  yield  to 

Behold  him,  standing  with  hand  reached  out  to  feed  the  South 
with  mercy  and  the  North  with  charity,  and  the  whole  land  with 
peace,  when  the  Lord,  who  had  sent  him,  called  him,  and  his  work 
was  done. — Phillips  Brooks. 


86  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

him.  But  though  I  believe  I  have  not  so  much  of 
the  confidence  of  the  people  as  I  had  some  time 
since,  1  do  not  know  that,  all  things  considered,  any 
other  person  has  more  ;  and,  however  this  may  be, 
there  is  no  way  in  which  I  can  have  any  other  man 
put  where  I  am.  I  am  here ;  I  must  do  the  best  I 
can,  and  bear  the  responsibility  of  taking  the  course 
which  I  feel  I  ought  to  take." 


PRELIMINARY    PROCLAMATION    OF 
EMANCIPATION. 

(Issued  September  22,  1862.} 

"  That  on  the  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty- 
three,  all  persons  held  as  slaves  within  any 
State  or  designated  part  of  a  State,  the 
people  whereof  shall  then  be  in  rebellion  against 
the  United  States,  shall  be  then,  thenceforward,  and 
forever,  free  ;  and  the  Executive  Government  of  the 
United  States,  including  the  military  and  naval 
authority  thereof,  will  recognize  and  maintain  the 
freedom  of  such  persons,  and  will  do  no  act  or 
acts  to  repress  such  persons,  or  any  of  them,  in 
any  efforts  they  may  make  for  their  actual  freedom. 

"  That  the  Executive  will,  on  the  first  day  of 
January  aforesaid,  by  proclamation,  designate  the 
States  and  parts  of  States,  if  any,  in  which  the 

He  did  more  to  perpetuate  the  existence  of  free  institutions  than 
any  man  that  has  ever  lived,  and  the  debt  mankind  owes  his  memory 
can  never  be  repaid. — George  Stoneinan. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  87 

people  thereof  respectively  shall  then  be  in  rebellion 
against  the  United  States  ;  and  the  fact  that  any 
State,  or  the  people  thereof,  shall  on  that  day  be 
in  good  faith  represented  in  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  by  members  chosen  thereto  at  elec- 
tions wherein  a  majority  of  the  qualified  voters  of 
such  State  shall  have  participated,  shall,  in  the 
absence  of  strong  countervailing  testimony,  be 
deemed  conclusive  evidence  that  such  State,  and 
the  people  thereof,  are  not  then  in  rebellion  against 
the  United  States." 


LETTER  TO  GENERAL  GRANT,  OCTOBER 

8,  1862. 

"  I  congratulate   you    and   all  concerned  in  your 
recent  battles  and   victories.     How  does  it  all  sum 

up  ?     I  especially  regret  the  death  of  Gen- 
1862 

eral  Hackleman,    and   am  very  anxious    to 

know  the  condition  of  General  Oglesby,  who  is  an 
intimate  personal  friend." 


LETTER   TO    THOMAS    H.    CLAY  OF    CIN- 
CINNATI,   OCTOBER   8,   1862. 

"  I  sincerely  wish  war  was  an  easier  and  pleas- 
anter  business  than  it  is,  but  it  does  not 
admit  of  holidays." 

There  can  be  no  correct  history  of  this  nation,  as  it  has  passed 
through  this  great  struggle  for  existence,  without  the  life  of  Abraham 
Lincoln. —  IVm.  A.  Buckingham. 


88  WORDS  OF  LINCOLN. 

OBSERVANCE  OF  THE  SABBATH  DAY  IN 
THE  ARMY  AND  NAVY. 

(General  Orders,  November  fj,  1862^) 

"  The  importance  for  man  and  beast  of  the  pre- 
scribed weekly  rest,  the  sacred  rights  of  Christian 
soldiers  and  sailors,  a  becoming  deference 
to  the  best  sentiments  of  a  Christian  peo- 
ple, and  a  due  regard  for  the  divine  will,  demand 
that  Sunday  labor  in  the  army  and  navy  be 
reduced  to  the  measure  of  strict  necessity. 

"  The  discipline  and  character  of  the  national 
forces  should  not  suffer,  nor  the  cause  they  defend 
be  imperiled  by  the  profanation  of  the  day  or  name 
of  the  Most  High.  '  At  this  time  of  public  dis- 
tress ' — adopting  the  words  of  Washington  in  1776 
— *  men  may  find  enough  to  do  in  the  service  of 
God  and  their  country  without  abandoning  them- 
selves to  vice  and  immorality.' 

"  The  first  general  order  issued  by  the  Father 
of  his  Country  after  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, indicates  the  spirit  in  which  our  insti- 
tutions were  founded  and  should  ever  be  de- 
fended : 

"  *  The  General  hopes  and  trusts  that  every  officer 
and  man  will  endeavor  to  live  and  act  as  becomes  a 
Christian  soldier  defending  the  dearest  rights  and 
liberties  of  his  country'  " 

President   Lincoln  had  a  heart  capable  of  the  greatest  sympathy 
and  the   keenest  emotions   for  the  carnage  and  destruction  he  saw 
on  in  every  direction. — David  D.  Porter. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  89 

"THE  WAY  IS  PLAIN— THE  WORLD  WILL 
FOREVER  APPLAUD." 

(Message  to  Congress,  December  I,  1862.) 

"The  civil  war,  which  has  so  radically  changed, 
for  the  moment,  the  occupation  and  habits  of  the 
American  people,  has  necessarily  disturbed 
the  social  conditions,  and  affected  very 
deeply  the  prosperity  of  the  nations  with  which  we 
have  carried  on  a  commerce  that  has  been  stead- 
ily increasing  throughout  a  period  of  half  a  cen- 
tury. It  has,  at  the  same  time,  excited  political 
ambitions  and  apprehensions  which  have  produced 
a  profound  agitation  throughout  the  civilized 
world.  In  this  unusual  agitation  we  have  fore- 
borne  from  taking  part  in  any  controversy  between 
foreign  states,  and  between  parties  or  factions  in 
such  states.  We  have  attempted  no  propagandism, 
and  acknowledged  no  revolution.  But  we  have  left 
to  every  nation  the  exclusive  conduct  and  manage- 
ment of  its  own  affairs. 

"  A  return  to  specie  payments,  however,  at  the 
earliest  period  compatible  with  due  regard  to  all 
interests  concerned,  should  ever  be  kept  in  view. 
Fluctuations  in  the  value  of  currency  are  always 
injurious,  and  to  reduce  these  fluctuations  to  the 
lowest  possible  point  will  always  be  a  leading  pur- 
pose in  wise  legislation.  Convertibility,  prompt 
and  certain  convertibility,  into  coin  is  generally 

1 1  is  character  was  based  upon  truth,  and,  having  been  placed  by 
fortune  in  the  proper  sphere  of  action,  he  showed  he  was  a  truly 
great  man. — Abram  S.  Hewitt, 


QO  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

acknowledged  to  be  the  best  and  surest  safeguard 
against  them  ;  and  it  is  extremely  doubtful  whether 
a  circulation  of  United  States  notes,  payable  in 
coin,  and  sufficiently  large  for  the  wants  of  the 
people,  can  be  permanently  useful  and  safely 
maintained. 

"  A  nation  may  be  said  to  consist  of  its  territory, 
its  people,  and  its  laws.  The  territory  is  the  only 
part  which  is  of  certain  durability:  'one 
generation  passeth  away,  and  another  gene- 
ration cometh,  but  the  earth  abideth  forever/  It  is 
of  the  first  importance  to  duly  consider  and  esti- 
mate this  ever-enduring  part.  That  portion  of  the 
earth's  surface  which  is  owned  and  inhabited  by  the 
people  of  the  United  States  is  well  adapted  to  be 
the  home  of  one  national  family,  and  it  is  not  well 
adapted  for  two  or  more.  Its  vast  extent  and  its 
variety  of  climate  and  productions  are  of  advantage 
in  this  age  for  one  people,  whatever  they  might 
have  been  in  former  ages.  Steam,  telegraphs,  and  in- 
telligence have  brought  these  to  be  an  advantageous 
combination  for  one  united  people. 

"  There  is  no  line,  straight  or  crooked,  suitable 
for  a  national  boundary,  upon  which  to  divide. 
Trace  through,  from  east  to  west,  upon  the  line 
between  the  free  and  slave  country,  and  we  shall 
find  a  little  more  than  one-third  of  its  length 
are  rivers,  easy  to  be  crossed,  and  populated,  or 
soon  to  be  populated,  thickly  upon  both  sides ; 
while  nearly  all  its  remaining  length  are  merely  sur- 

Never  before  did  man  raise  himself  from  utter  obscurity  to  a  place 
of  such  honorable  and  lasting  fame,  where  he  shall  stand  as  long  as 
men  keep  the  record  of  the  great  and  good. — Henry  E.  Badger. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  gi 

veyors'  lines,  over  which  people  may  walk  back  and 
forth  without  any  consciousness  of  their  presence. 
No  part  of  this  line  can  be  made  any  more  difficult 
to  pass  by  writing  it  down  on  paper  or  parchment 
as  a  national  boundary. 

"  The  fact  of  separation,  if  it  comes,  gives  up,  on 
the  part  of  the  seceding  section,  the  fugitive  slave 
clause,  along  with  all  other  constitutional  obligations 
upon  the  section  seceded  from,  while  I  should  ex- 
pect no  treaty  stipulation  would  ever  be  made  to 
take  its  place. 

"  Among  the  friends  of  the  Union  there  is  a  great 
diversity  of  sentiment  and  of  policy  in  regard  to 
slavery  and  the  African  race  amongst  us. 
Some  would  perpetuate  slavery ;  some 
would  abolish  it  suddenly,  and  without  compensa- 
tion ;  some  would  abolish  it  gradually,  and  with 
compensation;  some  would  remove  the  freed  people 
from  us,  and  some  would  retain  them  with  us ;  and 
there  are  yet  other  minor  diversities.  Because  of 
these  diversities,  we  waste  much  strength  among 
ourselves.  By  mutual  concession  we  should  harmo- 
nize and  act  together. 

"  I  do  not  forget  the  gravity  which  should  char- 
acterize a  paper  addressed  to  the  Congress  of  the 
Nation  by  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Nation.  Nor 
do  1  forget  that  some  of  you  are  my  seniors ;  nor 
that  many  of  you  have  more  experience  than  I  in 
the  conduct  of  public  affairs.  Yet  I  trust  that,  in 
view  of  the  great  responsibility  resting  upon  me, 

We  feel  how  grandly  secure  we  were  while  the  star,  now  hidden  in 
higher  splendors,  held  up  with  its  unfailing  influences  the  very  struc- 
ture and  frame  of  the  government. — K.  S,  Storrs. 


92  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

you  will  perceive  no  want  of  respect  to  yourselves 
in  any  undue  earnestness  I  may  seem  to  display. 

"  We  cannot  escape  history.  We  of  this  Con- 
gress and  this  administration  will  be  remembered  in 
spite  of  ourselves.  No  personal  significance 
or  insignificance  can  spare  one  or  another  of 
us.  The  fiery  trial  through  which  we  pass  will  light 
us  down  in  honor  or  dishonor  to  the  latest  generation. 

"  We  say  that  we  are  for  the  Union.  The  world 
will  not  forget  that  we  say  this.  We  know  how  to 
save  the  Union.  The  world  knows  we  do  know 
how  to  save  it.  We — even  we  here — hold  the  power 
and  bear  the  responsibility. 

"  In  giving  freedom  to  the  slave,  we  assure  free- 
dom to  the  free — honorable  alike  in  what  we  give 
and  what  we  preserve. 

"  We  shall  nobly  save  or  meanly  lose  the  last 
hope  of  earth.  Other  means  may  succeed;  this 
could  not,  cannot,  fail. 

"  The  way  is  plain,  peaceful,  generous,  just — a 
way  which,  if  followed,  the  world  will  forever  ap- 
plaud, and  God  must  forever  bless." 


LETTER  TO   HON.   FERNANDO  WOOD  OF 
NEW  YORK,  DECEMBER  12,   1862. 

"  If  '  the  Southern  States  would  send  representa- 
tives, to  the  next  Congress' — to  be  substantially  the 
same  as  that  *  the  people  of  the  Southern 
States   would    cease    resistance,  and    would 

He  touched  the  manacles  of  four  millions  of  men  and  women,  and 
in  the  twinkle  of  an  eye  they  drop  off  forever. —  Win.  P.  Frye. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  93 

reinaugurate,  submit  to,  and  maintain  the  national 
authority  within  the  limits  of  such  States,  under  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States/  I  say  that  in  such 
case  the  war  would  cease  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States ;  and  that  within  a  reasonable  time,  if  '  a  full 
and  general  amnesty  '  were  necessary  to  such  end,  it 
\vould  not  be  withheld." 


TENDERS  THE  THANKS  OF  THE  NATION. 

(Address  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  December  22,  1862.} 

11  I  have  just  read  your  commanding  general's 
preliminary  report  of  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg. 
Although  you  were  not  successful,  the  at- 
tempt was  not  an  error,  nor  the  failure 
other  than  an  accident.  The  courage  with  which 
you,  in  an  open  field,  maintained  the  contest  against 
an  intrenched  foe,  and  the  consummate  skill  and 
success  with  which  you  crossed  and  recrossed  the 
river,  in  face  of  the  enemy,  show  that  you  possess 
all  the  qualities  of  a  great  army,  which  will  yet  give 
victory  to  the  cause  of  the  country  and  of  popular 
government. 

"  Condoling  with  the  mourners  for  the  dead,  and 
sympathizing  with  the  severely  wounded,  I  con- 
gratulate you  that  the  number  of  both  is  compara- 
tively so  small.  I  tender  to  you,  officers  and 
soldiers,  the  thanks  of  the  nation." 

When  history  crystallizes,  when  the  events  of  a  century  shall  be 
recorded  in  a  sentence,  then  will  the  administration  of  Lincoln  be 
the  epochal  marks  of  his  age. — C.  E.  Pratt. 


94  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

"THE  TIMES  ARE  DARK— THE  MERCY 
OF  GOD  ALONE  CAN  SAVE  US." 

(To  Rev.  Byron  Sunderland,   Washington,  -who  called  with 
friends  during  the  last  days  of  1862. ) 

"  I  hold  myself,  in  my  present  position  and  with 
the  authority  vested  in  me,  as  an  instrument  of 
Providence.  I  have  my  own  views  and  pur- 
poses. I  have  my  convictions  of  duty, 
and  my  notions  of  what  is  right  to  be  done.  But 
I  am  conscious  every  moment  that  all  I  am  and  all 
I  have  is  subject  to  the  control  of  a  Higher  Power, 
and  that  Power  can  use  me  or  not  use  me  in  any 
manner,  and  at  any  time,  as  in  His  wisdom  and 
might  may  be  pleasing  to  Him.  These  are  simply 
with  me  the  convictions  and  realities  of  great  and 
vital  truths,  the  power  and  demonstration  of  which 
I  see  now  in  the  light  of  this  our  national  struggle 
as  I  have  never  seen  before. 

"God  only  knows  the  issue  of  this  business.  He 
has  destroyed  nations  from  the  maps  of  history 
for  their  sins.  Nevertheless,  my  hopes  prevail 
generally  above  my  fears  for  our  Republic.  The 
times  are  dark,  the  spirits  of  ruin  are  abroad  in 
all  their  power,  and  the  mercy  of  God  alone  can 
save  us." 


Let  childhood  drop  the  wreaths  of  May, 
Fair  woman  place  choice  funeral  flowers 

Above  his  grandly  coffined  clay — 
The  palm  is  his,  the  cross  is  ours. 

—  IV.  H.  C.  Hosmer. 


Photo  by  (. 
FORD'S    THEATER,    WASHINGTON,    D.    C. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  95 

EMANCIPATION  PROCLAMATION. 

(Issued  January  /,  1863.) 

"Now  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President 
of  the  United  States,  by  virtue  of  the  power  vested 
in  me  as  Commander-in-Chief 'of  the  Army 
and  Navy,  in  a  time  of  actual  armed  rebel- 
lion against  the  authority  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  as  a  fit  and  necessary  war  measure 
for  suppressing  said  rebellion,  do,  on  this  first  day  of 
January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty-three,  and  in  accordance  with  my 
purpose  so  to  do,  publicly  proclaimed  for  the  full 
period  of  one  hundred  days  from  the  date  of  the 
first  above-mentioned  order,  designate  as  the  States 
and  parts  of  States  therein  the  people  whereof, 
respectively,  are  this  day  in  rebellion  against  the 
United  States,  the  following,  to  wit: 

"  Arkansas,  Texas,  and  Louisiana  (except  the 
parishes  of  St.  Bernard,  Plaquemines,  Jefferson,  St. 
John,  St.  Charles,  St.  James,  Ascension,  Assump- 
tion, Terrebonne,  La  Fourche,  St.  Mary,  St.  Martin, 
and  Orleans,  including  the  city  of  New  Orleans), 
Mississippi,  Alabama,  Florida,  Georgia,  South  Caro- 
lina, North  Carolina,  and  Virginia  (except  the  forty- 
eight  counties  designated  as  West  Virginia,  and  also 


A  nation  free  shall  send  thy  name 

Through  coming  ages  down  : 
Thank  God,  though  ours  may  be  the  cross, 

Thine  is  the  victor's  crown  ! 

— Mrs.  R.  A.  Cameron. 


96  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

the  counties  of  Berkley,  Accomac,  Northampton, 
Elizabeth  City,  York,  Princess  Anne,  and  Norfolk, 
including  the  cities  of  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth), 
which  excepted  parts  are  for  the  present  left  pre- 
cisely as  if  this  proclamation  were  not  issued ;  and 
by  virtue  of  the  power  and  for  the  purpose  afore- 
said, I  do  order  and  declare  that  all  persons  held  as 
slaves  within  designated  States,  or  parts  of  States, 
are,  and  henceforward  shall  be  free,  and  that  the 
Executive  Government  of  the  United  States,  includ- 
ing the  military  and  naval  authorities  thereof,  will 
recognize  and  maintain  the  freedom  of  the  said 
persons;  and  I  hereby  enjoin  upon  the  people  so 
declared  to  be  free  to  abstain  from  all  violence, 
unless  in  necessary  self-defense ;  and  I  recommend 
to  them  that,  in  all  cases  when  allowed,  they  labor 
faithfully  for  reasonable  wages.  And  I  further 
declare  and  make  known  that  such  persons,  of  suit- 
able condition,  will  be  received  into  the  armed  ser- 
vice of  the  United  States,  to  garrison  forts,  posi- 
tions, stations,  and  other  places,  and  to  man  vessels 
of  all  sorts  in  said  service. 

"  And  upon  this  act,  sincerely  believed  to  be  an 
act  of  justice,  warranted  by  the  Constitution  upon 
military  necessity,  I  invoke  the  considerate  judg- 
ment of  mankind,  and  the  gracious  favor  of 
Almighty  God." 


Let  the  eminence  to  which  he  attained,  the  power  he  had  over 
men,  the  almost  divine  sagacity  with  which  he  led  them,  be  an  en- 
couragement to  all  men  who  believe  in  the  possibility  as  well  as  the 
necessity  of  popular  government  in  the  coming  ages  of  the  world. — 
Joseph  R.  Haivley. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  97 

"NOT  ONE  WORD  OF  IT  WILL  I  EVER 
RECALL." 

{Remarks  to  some  friends,  concerning  the  Emancipation  Proc- 
lamation, Neiv  Year's  Evening,  1863.) 

"The  signature  looks  a  little  tremulous,  for  my 
hand  was  tired,  but  my  resolution  was  firm. 

"  I    told   them    in    September,    if    they   did    not 

return  to  their  allegiance,  and  cease  murdering  our 

soldiers,  I  would  strike  at  this  pillar  of  their 

strength.     And   now   the    promise   shall  be 

kept,  and  not  one  word  of  it  will  I  ever  recall." 


LETTER  TO  GENERAL  SAMUEL    R.    CUR- 
TIS, DEPARTMENT  OF  MISSOURI. 

{Relative  to  the  arrest  of  a  church-member  who  sympathized 
with  the  Confederate  army,  January  2,  iS6j.) 

"  The  United  States  Government  must  not,  as  by 
this  order,  undertake  to  run  the  churches.     When 
an    individual    in    church,  or   out  of  it,  be- 
comes dangerous  to  the  public  interest,  he 
must  be  checked  ;  but  let  the  churches,  as  such,  take 
care  of  themselves.     It  will  not  do  for  the  United 
States   to   appoint   trustees,    supervisors,    or    other 
agents    for   the   churches." 

Whether  receiving  the  plaudits  of  a  country  court  for  a  successful 
defense,  or  the  homage  and  praise  of  millions  in  this  and  other  lands 
for  the  liberation  of  a  long-oppressed  race  and  the  preservation  of  the 
nation's  life,  he  was  the  same  modest,  self-forgetting,  undated  man. 
—  Wilbur  F.  Paddock. 


98  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

HIS  VOW  BEFORE  GOD. 

(Remarks  to  Secretary  S.  P.  Chase} 

"  I  made  a  solemn  vow  before  God,  that  if  Gen- 
eral Lee  was  driven  back  from  Pennsylvania, 
I  would  crown  the  result  by  the  declaration 
of  freedom  to  the  slaves." 


PROVIDING  FOR  THE  PAYMENT  OF  THE 
ARMY  AND  NAVY. 

(Message  to  Congress^  January  19,  i86j,  in  signing  a  joint 
resolution.} 

"  It  seems  very  plain  that  continued  issues  of 
United  States  notes  without  any  check  to  the  issues 
of  suspended  banks,  and  without  adequate 
provisions  for  the  raiding  of  money  by 
loans,  and  for  funding  the  issues  so  as  to  keep  them 
within  due  limits,  might  soon  produce  disastrous 
consequences,  and  this  matter  appears  to  me  so  im- 
portant that  I  feel  bound  to  avail  myself  of  this 
occasion  to  ask  the  special  attention  of  Congress 
to  it. 

"  That  Congress  has  power  to  regulate  the 
currency  of  the  country  can  hardly  admit  of  doubt, 
and  that  a  judicious  measure  to  prevent  the 
deterioration  of  this  currency  by  a  reasonable 

His  native  genius,  the  solidity  of  his  understanding,  his  common 
sense,  and  remarkable  sagacity,  his  patience  and  courage,  his  incor- 
ruptible integrity  and  steadfast  faith  in  God,  made  him  a  noble  man. 
— Ray  Palmer. 


WORDS   OF  LINCOLN.  99 

taxation  of  bank  circulation  or  otherwise  is  needed, 
seems  equally  clear.  Independent  of  this  general 
consideration,  it  would  be  unjust  to  the  people  at 
large  to  exempt  banks,  enjoying  the  special  privilege 
of  circulation,  from  their  just  proportion  of  the 
public  burdens." 


"BEWARE  OF   RASHNESS." 

(  To  General  Hooker,  in  giving  him  command  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac?) 

"  And  now,  beware  of  rashness,  beware  of  rash- 
ness, but,  with  energy  and  sleepless  vigi- 
lance, go  forward  and  give  us  victories." 


REPLY     TO     AN     ADDRESS     FROM     THE 
WORKINGMEN  OF  MANCHESTER,  ENG. 

(  Washington,  January  ip,  1863.) 

"  I  know,  and  deeply  deplore,  the  sufferings  which 

the  workingmen  of  Manchester,  and  in  all   Europe, 

are  called   to  endure  in  this  crisis.     It  has 

been  often  and  studiously  represented  that 

the   attempt  to  overthrow  this  government,  which 

was  built  upon  the  foundation  of  human  rights,  and 

to  substitute  for  it  one  which  should  rest  exclusively 

on  the  basis  of  human  slavery,  was  likely  to  obtain 

the  favor  of  Europe.     Through  the  action    of  our 

disloyal  citizens,  the  workingmen  of  Europe  have 

Abraham  Lincoln's  cheerfulness  and  wit  were  invaluable  to  him  in 
the  trying  years  of  our  civil  war  ;  his  unwavering  faith  that  good 
would  finally  overcome  evil  buoyed  his  spirits  through  the  darkest 
hours. — P.  T.  Bar  num. 


IOO  WORDS  OF   LINCOLN. 

been  subjected   to  severe  trials,  for  the  purpose  of 
forcing  their  sanction  to  that  attempt. 

"  Under  these  circumstances,  I  cannot  but  regard 
your  decisive  utterances  upon  the  question  as  an 
instance  of  sublime  Christian  heroism,  which  has  not 
been  surpassed  in  any  age  or  in  any  country.  It  is 
indeed  an  energetic  and  reinspiring  assurance  of  the 
inherent  power  of  truth,  and  the  ultimate  and  uni- 
versal triumph  of  justice,  humanity,  and  freedom. 
I  do  not  doubt  that  the  sentiments  you  have  ex- 
pressed will  be  sustained  by  your  great  nation,  and 
on  the  other  hand  I  have  no  hesitation  in  assuring 
you  that  they  will  excite  admiration,  esteem,  and 
the  most  reciprocal  feelings  of  friendship  among  the 
American  people.  I  hail  this  interchange  of  senti- 
ment, therefore,  as  an  augury,  that,  whatever  else 
may  happen,  whatever  misfortune  may  befall  your 
country  or  my  own,  the  peace  and  friendship  which 
now  exists  between  the  two  nations  will  be,  as  it 
shall  be  my  desire  to  make  them,  perpetual." 


SKETCH    OF    THE    HISTORY  OF    THE 
EMANCIPATION  PROCLAMATION. 

(Given  to  Mr.  F.  B.  Carpenter  by  Mr.  Lincoln?) 

"  Things  had  gone  on  from  bad  to  worse,  until  I 
felt  that  we  had  reached  the  end  of  our  rope  on  the 

plan   of   operations  we  had   been  pursuing; 

that  we  had  about  played  our  last  card,  and 
must  change  our  tactics,  or  lose  the  game. 

His  advent  and  destiny  will  emblazon  history  so  long  as  the  science 
of  government  shall  be  read  and  propagated  by  men, — H.  M.  Rector, 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  IOI 

"  I  now  determined  upon  the  adoption  of  the 
emancipation  policy ;  and,  without  consultation 
with,  or  the  knowledge  of,  the  cabinet,  I  prepared 
the  original  draft  of  the  proclamation,  and,  after 
much  anxious  thought,  called  a  cabinet  meeting 
upon  the  subject.  This  was  the  last  of  July,  or  the 
first  of  the  month  of  August,  1862. 

"  I  said  to  the  cabinet  that  I  had   resolved  upon 

this  step,  and  had  not  called  them  together  to  ask 

their  advice,  but  to  lay  the  subject  matter 

of  a  proclamation  before  them  ;   suggestions 

as  to  which  would  be  in  order  after  they  had  heard 

it  read.     Various  suggestions  were  offered. 

"  The  result  was  that  I  put  the  draft  of  the  proc- 
lamation aside,  as  you  do  your  sketch  for  a  picture, 
waiting  for  a  victory.  From  time  to  time  I  added 
or  changed  a  line,  touching  it  up  here  and  there, 
waiting  the  progress  of  events.  Well,  the  next  news 
we  had  was  of  Pope's  disaster  at  Bull  Run.  Things 
looked  darker  than  ever. 

"  Finally  came  the  week  of  the  battle  of  Antietam. 
I  determined  to  wait  no  longer.  The  news  came,  I 
think,  on  Wednesday,  that  the  advantage  was  on  our 
side.  I  was  then  staying  at  the  *  Soldiers'  Home.' 
Here  I  finished  writing  the  second  draft  of  the  pre- 
liminary proclamation ;  came  up  on  Saturday,  called 
the  cabinet  together  to  hear  it,  and  it  was  published 
the  following  morning." 

There  is  a  most  unusual  simplicity  about  his  life,  almost  a  child's 
life  to  the  last,  yet  in  the  manliest  proportions.  He  had  no  conceal- 
ments ;  every  step  which  he  took  in  his  political  education  became 
public  property  almost  as  soon  as  he  became  aware  of  it  himself. -- 
/.  T.  Tucker. 


102  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

"UNREASONING     AND     UNCHARITABLE 

PASSIONS,    PREJUDICES,   AND 

JEALOUSIES." 

(Reply  to  an  invitation  to  preside  over  a  meeting  of  the  Chris- 
tian Commission,  held  in  Washington,  February  22, 


"  While,  for  reasons  which  I  deem  sufficient,  I 
must  decline  to  preside,  I  cannot  with- 
hold my  approval  of  the  meeting  and  its 
worthy  object. 

"  Whatever  shall  be  sincerely  and  in  God's  name 
devised  for  the  good  of  the  soldiers  and  seamen  in 
their  hard  spheres  of  duty,  can  scarcely  fail  to  be 
blessed.  And  whatever  shall  tend  to  turn  our 
thoughts  from  the  unreasoning  and  uncharitable 
passions,  prejudices,  and  jealousies  incident  to  a 
great  national  trouble  such  as  ours,  and  to  fix  them 
on  the  vast  and  long-enduring  consequences,  for 
weal  or  for  woe,  which  are  to  result  from  the 
struggle,  and  especially  to  strengthen  our  reliance 
on  the  Supreme  Being  for  the  final  triumph  of  the 
right,  cannot  but  be  well  for  us  all. 

"  The  birthday  of  Washington  and  the  Christian 
Sabbath  coinciding  this  year,  and  suggesting  to- 
gether the  highest  interests  of  this  life  and  of  that 
to  come,  it  is  the  most  propitious  for  the  meeting 
proposed." 

His  eyes  had  looked  upon  the  stronghold,  which  had  so  long 
defied  our  armies  ;  and  over  it  was  the  dear  old  flag  !  In  one  sense, 
this  was  a  choice  hour  in  which  to  die  ;  and  in  it  he  died—  died  with- 
out pain  —  sealing  with  his  blood  the  testimony  of  his  lips  and  life.  — 
Richard  B.  Ditane. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  103 

LETTER    TO     GENERAL    HOOKER,     MAY 

7,   1863,  AFTER  THE  DEFEAT  OF 

HIS  ARMY. 

"  Have  you  already  in  your  mind  a  plan   wholly 
or    partially    formed  ?     If   you    have,    prosecute    it 
without  interference  from  me.     If  you  have 
not,  please  inform  me,  so  that  I,  incompe- 
tent as  I  may  be,  can  try  and  assist  in  the  formation 
of  some  plan  for  the  army." 


"THE  GOVERNMENT  MUST  BE 
PERPETUATED." 

(Reply  to  a  committee  of  sixty-five  members  from  the  General 
Assembly  of  Presbyterians,  that  met  in  Philadelphia,  May, 
1863,  and  visited  the  President,  presenting  him  with  reso- 
lutions of  endorsement  and  encouragement^) 

"  In  my  administration  I  might  have  committed 

some  errors.     It  would   be  indeed  remarkable  if  I 

had    not.     I    have    acted    according  to  my 

best  judgment  in  every  case.     As  a  pilot  I 

have  used  my  best  exertions  to  keep  afloat  our  Ship 

of  State,  and  shall  be  glad  to  resign  my  trust  at  the 

appointed  time  to  another  pilot  more  skillful  and 

successful  than  I  may  prove.     In  every  case,  and  at 

all  hazards,  the  Government  must  be  perpetuated. 

One  of  the  noteworthy  features  of  Lincoln's  wonderful  life  was  the 
manifest  deepening  of  his  sense  of  God's  presence  and  providence  dur- 
ing those  later  years  when  he  bore  the  imperiled  nation  on  his  heart. — 
John  H.  Barrows. 


IO4  WORDS  OF  LINCOLN. 

"  Relying,  as  I  do,  upon  the  Almighty  Power, 
and  encouraged,  as  I  am,  by  these  resolutions  which 
you  have  just  read,  with  the  support  which  I  receive 
from  Christian  men,  I  shall  not  hesitate  to  use  all 
the  means  at  my  control  to  secure  the  termination 
of  this  rebellion,  and  will  hope  for  success." 


LETTER  TO  GENERAL  JOHN  M. 
SCHOFIELD. 

(May  24,  i86jt  in  taking  command  of  thz  Department  of  the 
Missouri?) 

11  Now  that  you  are  in  the  position,  I  wish  you 

to  undo  nothing  merely  because  General  Curtis  or 

General  Gamble  did  it,  but  to  exercise  your 

own  judgment,  and  do  right  for  the  public 

interest.     Let    your    military   measures   be    strong 

enough  to  repel  the  invader  and   keep  the  peace, 

and  not  so  strong  as  to  unnecessarily  harass  and 

persecute  the  people. 

"  It  is  a  difficult  role,  and  so  much  greater  will  be 
the  honor  if  you  perform  it  well.  .If  both  factions, 
or  neither,  shall  abuse  you,  you  will  probably  be 
about  right.  Beware  of  being  assailed  by  one  and 
praised  by  the  other." 


The  entire  nation  felt  safer  when  they  heard  Abraham  Lincoln  ask 
them  to  pray  God  to  sustain  him.  He  felt  his  dependence  on  the 
Most  High,  and  dared  not  accept  so  lofty  a  trust  without  the  blessing 
of  the  Almighty. — Denis  IVortman. 


WORDS  OF  LINCOLN.  10$ 

REPLY  TO  ERASTUS  CORNING,  AND 
OTHERS,  OF  NEW  YORK. 

(  Who  had  protested  against  the  arrest  of  C.  L.  Vallandigham^) 

"  Must  I  shoot  a  simple-minded  boy  who  deserts, 
while  I  must  not  touch  a  hair  of  a  wily  agi- 
tator who  induces  him  to  desert? 

"  This  is  none  the  less  injurious  when  effected  by 
getting  a  father,  or  brother,  or  friend  into  a  public 
meeting,  and  there  working  upon  his  feelings  till 
he  is  persuaded  to  write  the  soldier-boy  that  he  is 
righting  in  a  bad  cause,  for  a  wicked  administration 
of  a  contemptible  government,  too  weak  to  arrest 
and  punish  him  if  he  shall  desert. 

"  I  think  that,  in  such  a  case,  to  silence  the  agi- 
tator and  save  the  boy  is  not  only  constitutional, 
but  withal  a  great  mercy." 


IN    CASE   MISSOURI    SHOULD   ADOPT 
GRADUAL  EMANCIPATION. 

(Reply  to  General  Sc  ho  field,  June  22,  1863.) 

"  Desirous   as   I   am   that   emancipation   shall  be 

adopted  by  Missouri,  and  believing,  as   I   do,  that 

gradual  can  be  made  better  than  immediate 

for    both    black  and    white,    except    when 

God  endowed  him  with  a  nature  as  broad  as  the  prairies  of  his  own 
adopted  State,  spontaneously  blossoming  with  all  kindly  graces,  even 
as  those  prairies  bloom  with  the  beauty  of  countless  flowers. — George 
W.  Briggs. 


106  WORDS   OF  .LINCOLN. 

military  necessity  changes  the  case,  my  impulse  is 
to  say  that  such  protection  would  be  given.  I  can- 
not know  exactly  what  shape  an  act  of  emancipa- 
tion may  take.  If  the  period  from  the  initiation  to 
the  final  end  should  be  comparatively  short,  and 
the  act  should  prevent  persons  being  sold  during 
that  period  into  more  lasting  slavery,  the  whole 
would  be  easier. 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  pledge  the  General  Govern- 
ment to  the  affirmative  support  of  even  temporary 
slavery  beyond  what  can  be  fairly  claimed 
under  the  Constitution.  I  suppose,  how- 
ever, this  is  not  desired,  but  that  it  is  desired  for 
the  military  force  of  the  United  States,  while  in 
Missouri,  to  not  be  used  in  subverting  the  tempo- 
rarily reserved  legal  rights  in  slaves  during  the  prog- 
ress of  emancipation. 

"  This  I  would  desire,  also.  I  have  very  earnestly 
urged  the  slave  States  to  adopt  emancipation  ;  and 
it  ought  to  be,  and  is,  an  object  with  me  not  to 
overthrow  or  thwart  what  any  of  them  may,  in 
good  faith,  do  to  that  end.  You  are,  therefore, 
authorized  to  act  in  the  spirit  of  this  letter,  in  con- 
junction with  what  may  appear  to  be  the  military 
necessities  of  your  department. 

41  Although  this  letter  will  become  public  some 
time,  it  is  not  intended  to  be  made  so  now." 


He  was  struck  down  just  as  the  rainbow  was  spanning  the  clearing 
sky,  just  as  he  was  about  to  open,  in  the  name  of  the  nation,  the 
bright  gates  of  the  Temple  of  Peace,  just  when  passion  was  quenching 
her  fires,  and  the  spears  and  the  bow  were  being  broken  asunder. — 
Henry  Fox . 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  TO? 

GRATITUDE  TO  GOD. 

(Proclamation,  July  4,  1863.) 

"The  President  announces  to  the   country  that 
news  from  the  army  of  the  Potomac,  up  to   10  P.  M., 
of  the  3d,  is  such  as  to  cover  that  army  with 
the  highest   honor;  to  promise  a  great  suc- 
cess to  the  cause  of  the  Union,  and  to  claim  the  con- 
dolence of  all  for  the  many  gallant  fallen  ;  and  that 
for  this  he  especially  desires  that  on  this  day,  He 
whose  will,  not  ours,  should  ever  be  done,  be  every- 
where remembered  and  ever  reverenced  with  pro- 
found gratitude." 


RESPONSE  TO  A  SERENADE  AT  THE 
WHITE  HOUSE,  JULY  7,  1863. 

(A  large  crowd  of  people  and  a  band  of  music  were  on  hand.} 

"  I  am  very  glad  indeed  to   see  you  to-night,  and 

yet  I  will  not  say   I  thank  you  for  this  call  ;  but  I 

do  most   sincerely  thank  Almighty  God  for 

the    occasion    on   which    you     have   called. 

How  long  ago  is  it? — eighty  odd  years — since,  on  the 

Fourth   of  July,  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of 

the  world,  a  nation  by  its  representatives  assembled 

The  next  generation  will  acknowledge  that  the  man  who  rose  from 
a  log  cabin  to  the  presidential  chair,  who  led  a  vast  republic  through 
its  wilderness  of  perilous  confusions  and  its  red  sea  of  horrible  carn- 
age, was  a  man  who  has  no  superior  in  the  American  annals. —  Theo- 
dore L.  Cuvler. 


108  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

and  declared  as  a  self-evident  truth,  '  that  all  men 
are  created  equal.'  That  was  the  birthday  of  the 
United  States  of  America.  Since  then  the  Fourth 
of  July  has  had  several  very  peculiar  recognitions. 

"  The  two  men  most  distinguished  in  the  framing 
and  support  of  the  Declaration  were  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son and  John  Adams — the  one  having  penned  it 
and  the  other  sustained  it  the  most  forcibly  in 
debate — the  only  two  of  the  fifty-five  who  signed  it 
and  were  elected  Presidents  of  the  United  States. 
Precisely  fifty  years  after  they  put  their  hands  to 
the  paper,  it  pleased  Almighty  God  to  take  both 
from  this  stage  of  action.  This  was  indeed  an 
extraordinary  and  remarkable  event  in  our  history. 
Another  President  five  years  after  was  called  from 
this  stage  of  existence  on  the  same  day  and  month 
of  the  year;  and  now  on  this  last  Fourth  of  July 
just  passed,  when  we  have  a  gigantic  rebellion,  at 
the  bottom  of  which  is  an  effort  to  overthrow  the 
principle  that  all  men  were  created  equal,  we  have 
the  surrender  of  a  most  powerful  position  and  army 
on  that  very  day.  And  not  only  so,  but  in  a  suc- 
cession of  battles  in  Pennsylvania,  near  to  us, 
through  three  days,  so  rapidly  fought  that  they 
might  be  called  one  great  battle,  on  the  1st,  2d, 
and  3d  of  the  month  of  July;  and  on  the  4th  the 
cohorts  of  those  who  opposed  the, declaration  that 
all  men  are  created  equal,  '  turned  tail '  and  ran. 


There  was  a  majesty  in  his  character  which  shone  forth  on  all 
great  occasions  ;  though  oppressed  with  the  weight  of  responsibilites, 
he  rose  above  all  obstacles  and  proved  himself  equal  in  every  emer- 
gency.— E.  Z>.  To-wnscnd. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  109 

"  Gentlemen,  this  is  a  glorious  theme  and  the 
occasion  for  a  speech,  but  I  am  not  prepared  to 
make  one  worthy  of  the  occasion.  I  would 
like  to  speak  in  terms  of  praise  due  to  the 
many  brave  officers  and  soldiers  who  have  fought 
in  the  cause  of  the  Union  and  liberties  of  their 
country  from  the  beginning  of  the  war.  These  are 
trying  occasions,  not  only  in  success,  but  for  the 
want  of  success.  I  dislike  to  mention  the  name  of 
one  single  officer,  lest  I  might  do  wrong  to  those  I 
might  forget.  Recent  events  bring  up  glorious 
names,  and  particularly  prominent  ones;  but  these 
I  will  not  mention.  Having  said  this  much,  I  will 
now  take  the  music." 


AS  LIKELY  *fO  CAPTURE  THE  '  MAN  IN 
THE  MOON."' 

(Dispatch  to   General  Thomas,  at  Harrisburg,  Pa., 
July  8, 


"  Forces   now   beyond   Carlisle   to   be  joined  by 

regiments  still  at  Harrisburg,  and  the  united   force 

again  to    join  Pierce    somewhere,  and    the 

whole  to  move  down  the  Cumberland  Valley, 

will,  in  my  unprofessional  opinion,  be  quite  as  likely 

to  capture  the  '  Man  in  the  Moon  '  as  any  part  of 

Lee's  Army." 


The  work  will  be  completed  after  Lincoln,  as  if  finished  by  him  ; 
but  Lincoln  will  remain  the  austere  and  sacred  personification  of 
a  great  epoch,  the  most  faithful  expression  of  democracy. — Henri 
Martin. 


HO  WORDS  OF  LINCOLN. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENT  TO  GENERAL 
GRANT. 

(Letter  to  General  Grant,  fuly  ij,  1863.) 

"  I  do  not  remember  that  you  and  I  ever  met  per- 
sonally. I  write  this  now  as  a  grateful  ac- 
knowledgment for  the  almost  inestimable 
service  you  have  done  the  country. 

"  I  write  to  say  a  word  further.  When  you  first 
reached  the  vicinity  of  Vicksburg,  I  thought  you 
should  do  what  you  finally  did — march  the  troops 
across  the  neck,  run  the  batteries  with  the  transports, 
and  thus  go  below ;  and  I  never  had  any  faith,  ex- 
cept a  general  hope  that  you  knew  better  than  I, 
that  the  Yazoo  Pass  expedition,  and  the  like,  could 
succeed.  When  you  got  below  and  took  Port  Gib- 
son, Grand  Gulf,  and  vicinity,  I  thought  you  should 
go  down  the  river  and  join  General  Banks ;  and 
when  you  turned  northward,  east  of  the  Big  Black, 
I  feared  it  was  a  mistake. 

"  I  now  wish  to  make  the  personal  acknowledg- 
ment that  you  were  right  and  I  was  wrong." 


A  DAY  FOR  NATIONAL  THANKSGIVING, 
PRAISE,  AND    PRAYER. 

(Proclamation  issued  July  75,  iS6j.) 

"  It  has  pleased  Almighty  God  to  hearken  to  the 
supplication  and  prayers  of  an  afflicted 
people,  and  to  vouchsafe  to  the  army  and  the 


He  became  our  father, and  his  tomb  is  our  shrine. — R.ufus  Blanc  hard. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  Ill 

navy  of  the  United  States,  on  the  land  and  on  the 
sea,  victories  so  signal  and  so  effective  as  to  furnish 
reasonable  grounds  for  augmented  confidence  that 
the  Union  of  these  States  will  be  maintained,  their 
Constitution  preserved,  and  their  peace  and  prosper- 
ity permanently  secured.  But  these  victories  have 
been  accorded  not  without  sacrifice  of  life,  limb,  and 
liberty,  incurred  by  brave,  patriotic,  and  loyal  citi- 
zens. Domestic  affliction,  in  every  part  of  the 
country,  follows  in  the  train  of  these  fearful  be- 
reavements. "  It  is  meet  and  right  to  recognize  and 
confess  the  presence  of  the  Almighty  Father ;  and 
the  power  of  His  hand  equally  in  these  triumphs  and 
these  sorrows. 

"  Now,  therefore,  be  it  known,  that  I  do  set  apart 
Thursday,  the  sixth  day  of  August  next,  to  be  ob- 
served as  a  day  for  national  thanksgiving,  praise, 
and  prayer;  and  I  invite  the  people  of  the  United 
States  to  assemble,  on  that  occasion,  in  their  cus- 
tomary places  of  worship,  and,  in  the  form  approved 
by  their  own  conscience,  render  the  homage  due  to 
the  Divine  Majesty  for  the  wonderful  things  He  has 
done  in  the  nation's  behalf,  and  invoke  the  influence 
of  His  holy  Spirit  to  subdue  the  anger  which  has 
produced,  and  so  long  sustained,  a  needless  and 
cruel  rebellion ;  to  change  the  hearts  of  the  in- 
surgents ;  to  guide  the  counsels  of  the  government 
with  wisdom  adequate  to  so  great  a  national  emer- 
gency ;  and  to  visit  with  tender  care  and  consolation, 

His  greatness  consisted  not  in  the  extraordinary  development  of 
any  one  faculty  or  attribute  to  the  neglect  of  others,  but  in  a  fair  and 
healthy  growth  of  all  the  elements  that  make  a  man  in  the  highest 
sense  of  the  term. — A.  B.  Bascom. 


112  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  our  land,  all 
those  who,  through  the  vicissitudes  of  marches,  voy- 
ages, battles,  and  sieges,  have  been  brought  to  suffer 
in  mind,  body,  or  estate  ;  and  finally,  to  lead  the 
whole  nation,  through  paths  of  repentance  and  sub- 
mission to  the  Divine  will,  back  to  the  perfect 
enjoyment  of  union  and  fraternal  peace." 


IN    DISPENSING    PATRONAGE    THE    DIS- 
ABLED SOLDIER  TO  HAVE  THE 
PREFERENCE. 

(Letter  to  the  Postmaster-General,  July  27,  1863.} 

"Yesterday  little  indorsements  of  mine  went  to 
you  in  two  cases  of  postmasterships,  sought  for 
widows,  whose  husbands  have  fallen  in  the 
battles  of  this  war.  These  cases,  occurring 
on  the  same  day,  brought  me  to  reflect  more  atten- 
tively than  I  had  before  done  as  to  what  is  fairly 
due  from  us  here  in  the  dispensing  of  patronage  to- 
ward the  men  who,  by  fighting  our  battles,  bear  the 
chief  burden  of  saving  our  country. 

"  My  conclusion  is  that,  other  claims  and  qualifica- 
tions being  equal,  they  have  the  right,  and  this  is 
especially  applicable  to  the  disabled  soldier  and  the 
deceased  soldier's  family." 

His  towering  figure,  sharp  and  spare, 
Was  with  such  nervous  tension  strung, 
As  if  on  each  strained  sinew  swung 

The  burden  of  a  people's  care. 

—Charles  G.  Halpine. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  113 

DISPATCH    TO    GENERAL    BURNSIDE 
AT  CINCINNATI,  JULY  27,   1863. 

"  General  Grant  is  a  copious  worker  and  fighter, 

but  a  very  meager  writer  or  telegrapher." 
1863 


DECLINES   AN  INVITATION  TO  ATTEND 

THE    ILLINOIS    REPUBLICAN    STATE 

CONVENTION,  SEPTEMBER  3,  1863. 

(Letter  to  J.  C.  Conkling,  Springfield,  August  26,  1863.) 

"  The  signs  look  better.     The  Father  of  Waters 
again    goes   unvexed  to  the    sea.     Thanks   to   the 
great  Northwest  for  it ;  nor  yet  wholly  to 
them.     Three   hundred    miles  up  they  met 
New  England,  Empire,  Keystone,  and  Jersey  hew- 
ing their  way  right  and  left.     The  sunny  South,  too, 
in  more  colors  than  one,  also  lent  a  helping  hand. 
On  the  spot,  their  part  of  the  history  was  jotted 
down  in  black  and  white. 

"  The  job  was  a  great  national  one,  and  let  none 
be  slighted  who  bore  an  honorable  part  in  it.  And 
while  those  who  cleared  the  river  may  well  be  proud, 
even  that  is  not  all.  It  is  hard  to  say  that  anything 
has  been  more  bravely  and  well  done  than  at  Antie- 

Such  love  a  prince  might  crave,  such  homage  seek  ; 
The  people's  love  that  clothed  him  like  a  king, 
The  grateful  trust  those  hands  were  swift  to  bring 

Whose  broken  fetters  of  deliverance  speak. 

— Harriet  McEwen  Kimball. 


114  WORDS   OF    LINCOLN. 

tarn,  Murfreesboro,  Gettysburg,  and  on  many  fields 
of  less  note. 

"  Nor  must  Uncle  Sam's  web-feet  be  forgotten. 
At  all  the  watery  margins  they  have  been  present. 
Not  only  on  the  deep  sea,  the  broad  bay,  and  the 
rapid  river,  but  also  up  the  narrow,  muddy  bayou, 
and  wherever  the  ground  was  a  little  damp,  they 
have  been  and  made  their  tracks. 

"  Thanks  to  all.  For  the  great  republic — for  the 
principle  it  lives  by  and  keeps  alive — for  man's  vast 
future — thanks  to  all. 

"  Peace  does  not  appear  so  distant  as  it  did.     I 

hope  it  will  come  soon,  and  come  to  stay;  and  so 

come  as  to  be  worth    the    keeping    in    all 

future  time.     It  will  then  have  been  proved 

that,    among  freemen,  there  can  be   no  successful 

appeal  from  the  ballot  to  the  bullet,  and  that  they 

who  take  such  appeal  are  sure  to  lose  their  case  and 

pay  the  cost. 

"  And  there  will  be  some  black  men  who  can 
remember  that,  with  silent  tongue,  and  clinched 
teeth,  and  steady  eye,  and  well-poised  bayonets, 
they  have  helped  mankind  on  to  this  great  consum- 
mation, while  I  fear  there  will  be  some  white  ones 
unable  to  forget  that,  with  malignant  heart  and 
deceitful  speech,  they  have  striven  to  hinder  it. 

"  Still,  let  us  not  be  over-sanguine  of  a  speedy 
final  triumph.  Let  us  be  quite  sober.  Let  us  dili- 
gently apply  the  means,  never  doubting  that  a  just 
— • 

The  death  of  M::,  Lincoln  struck  the  ear  and  awoke  the  sympathy 
of  European  nations,  which  echoed  back,  through  numerous  expres- 
sions of  condolence,  the  commingled  tones  of  a  wide-spread  grief. — 
J.  M.  Pttrinton. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  11$ 

God,  in  His  own  good  time,  will  give  us  the  rightful 
result." 


CONGRATULATING   THE    PRESIDENT  ON 

ISSUING  THE    EMANCIPATION 

PROCLAMATION. 

(Speech  to  a  large  body  of  people  who  assembled  before  the 
White  House,  September  24,  1863.) 

"  What  I  did,  I  did  after  a  very  full  determination, 
and  under  a  very  heavy  and  solemn  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility. I  can  only  trust  in  God  I  have 
made  no  mistake. 

"  It  is  now  for  the  country  and  the  world  to  pass 
judgment,  and,  maybe,  take  action  upon  it.  In  my 
position,  I  am  environed  with  difficulties.  Yet  they 
are  scarcely  so  great  as  the  difficulties  of  those  who, 
upon  the  battlefield,  are  endeavoring  to  purchase, 
with  their  blood  and  their  lives,  the  future  happi- 
ness and  prosperity  of  their  country.  Let  us  never 
forget  them  ! " 


PARDON   FOR  A  DESERTER. 

(Remarks  to  Hon.  Schuyler  Coif  ax,  who  asked  for  a  respite?) 

"  Some   of  our  generals  complain  that  I   impair 

discipline    and   subordination   in    the   army   by  my 

pardons   and    respites,    but    it    makes    me 

3     rested,  after  a  day's  hard  work,  if  I  can  find 

He  united  in  his  nature  the  rugged  endurance  of  the  oak,  with  the 
yielding  grace  and  humility  of  the  willow. — 6\  F.  Burdick. 


Il6  WORDS  OF  LINCOLN. 

some  good  excuse  for  saving  a  man's  life ;  and  I  go 
to.  bed  happy  as  I  think  how  joyous  the  signing  of 
my  name  makes  him  and  his  family  and  his  friends." 


REFUSAL  TO  PARDON  A  MAN  FOR 
IMPORTING  SLAVES. 

(Reply  to  Mr.  Alley,  who  read  a  petition  for  the  man's 
pardon?) 

"  You  know  my  weakness  is  to  be,  if  possible,  too 
easily  moved  by  appeals  for  mercy  ;  and,  if  this 
man  were  guilty  of  the  foulest  murder  that 
the  arm  of  man  could  perpetrate,  I  might 
forgive  him  on  such  an  appeal ;  but  the  man  who 
could  go  to  Africa,  and  rob  her  of  her  children,  and 
sell  them  into  interminable  bondage,  with  no  other 
motive  than  that  which  is  furnished  by  dollars  and 
cents,  is  so  much  worse  than  the  most  depraved 
murderer  that  he  can  never  receive  pardon  at  my 
hands." 


PROCLAMATION  OF  THANKSGIVING  DAY. 

(Issued  October  j,  1863.) 

"  The  year  that  is  drawing  toward  its  close  has 

been  filled  with  the  blessings  of  fruitful  fields  and 

healthful    skies.     To  these  bounties,  which 

are  so  constantly  enjoyed  that  we  are  prone 

History  furnishes  scarcely  a  parallel  to  the  character  of  this  greatest 
of  reformers.  —  Wesley  Merritt. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  117 

to  forget  the  source  from  which  they  come,  others 
have  been  added,  which  are  of  so  extraordinary  a 
nature  that  they  cannot  fail  to  penetrate  and  soften 
even  the  heart  which  is  habitually  insensible  to  the 
ever-watchful  Providence  of  Almighty  God. 

"  In  the  midst  of  a  civil  war  of  unequaled  mag- 
nitude and  severity,  which  has  sometimes  seemed 
to  invite  and  provoke  the  aggression  of  foreign 
states,  peace  has  been  preserved  with  all  nations, 
order  has  been  maintained,  the  laws  have  been 
respected  and  obeyed,  and  harmony  has  prevailed 
everywhere,  except  in  the  theater  of  military 
conflict. 

"The  needful  diversion  of  wealth  and  strength 
from  the  fields  of  peaceful  industry  to  the  national 
defense  has  not  arrested  the  plow,  the  shuttle,  or 
the  ship. 

"  The  ax  has  enlarged  the  borders  of  our  settle- 
ments, and  the  mines,  as  well  of  iron  and  coal  as 
of  the  precious  metals,  have  yielded  even 
more  abundantly  than  heretofore.  Popula- 
tion has  steadily  increased, "  notwithstanding  the 
waste  that  has  been  made  by  the  camp,  the  siege, 
and  the  battlefield,  and  the  country,  rejoicing  in  the 
consciousness  of  augmented  strength  and  vigor, 
is  permitted  to  expect  continuance  of  years  with 
large  increase  of  freedom. 

"  No  human  council  hath  devised,  nor  hath  any 
mortal  hand  worked  out,  these  great  things.  They 
are  the  gracious  gifts  of  the  Most  High  God,  who, 

When  all  seemed  dark — not  a  ray  of  sunshine,  or  even  the  faintest 
flicker  of  a  star  could  he  seen  penetrating  the  political  firmament — 
he  stood  undisturbed. — Lewis  H.  Steiner. 


Il8  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

while  dealing  with  us  in  anger  for  our  sins,  hath 
nevertheless  remembered  mercy. 

"  It  seemed  to  me  fit  and  proper  that  they  should 
be  solemnly,  reverentially,  and  gratefully  acknowl- 
edged as  with  one  heart  and  voice,  by  the  whole 
American  people. 

"I  recommend  too,  that,  while  offering  up  the 
ascriptions  justly  due  to  Him  for  such  singular  deliv- 
erances and  blessings,  they  do  also,  with 
humble  penitence  for  our  national  perverse- 
ness  and  disobedience,  commend  to  His  tender 
care  all  those  who  have  become  widows,  orphans, 
mourners,  or  sufferers  in  the  lamentable  civil 
strife  in  which  we  are  unavoidably  engaged,  and 
fervently  implore  the  interposition  of  the  Almighty 
hand  to  heal  the  wounds  of  the  nation,  and  to 
restore  it,  as  soon  as  may  be  consistent  with  divine 
purposes,  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  peace,  harmony, 
tranquillity,  and  union." 


"THE  REBELLION  MUST  DWINDLE  AND 
DIE." 

(Letter    to  General  Rosecrans,    Chattanooga,  Tenn., 
October  4,  1863.) 

"  If  we  can  hold  Chattanooga  and   East  Tennes- 
see, I  think  the  rebellion  must  dwindle  and  die.     I 
understand   the  main  body   of  the   army  is 
very   near    you — so    near    that    you     could 

Mr.  Lincoln's  part  in  subduing  the  Rebellion  will  be  better  appre- 
ciated as  time  clears  away  the  mist  of  race  prejudice  and  the  fogs  of 
political  intrigues. — Ben.  Perley  Poore. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  119 

'  board  at  home,'  so  to  speak,  and  menace  or  attack 
him  any  day.  Would  not  the  doing  of  this  be  your 
best  mode  of  counteracting  his  raids  on  your  com- 
munications ?  But  this  is  not  an  order." 


A  PERPLEXING  COMPOUND— AFFAIRS  IN 
MISSOURI. 

(Letter  to  Hon.  Charles  D.  Drake,  October  j,  f£6j.) 

11  We  are  in  civil   war.     In  such   cases  there   is  a 

main  question ;  but  in   this  case  that   question  is  a 

perplexing   compound,    union    and    slavery. 

It    thus    becomes   a   question,    not    of   two 

sides    merely,  but   at   least   four  sides  even  among 

those   who  are    for   the   Union,   saying  nothing  of 

those  who  are  against  it. 

"  Thus,  those  who  are  for  the  Union  with,  but 
not  without  slavery  ;  those  for  it  without,  but  not 
with  ;  those  for  it  with  or  without,  but  prefer  it 
with  ;  and  those  for  it  with  or  without,  but  prefer  it 
without.  Among  these,  again,  is  a  subdivision  of 
those  who  are  for  gradual,  but  not  for  immediate, 
and  those  who  are  for  immediate,  but  not  for 
gradual,  extinction  of  slavery. 

"  It  is  easy  to  conceive  that  all  these  shades  of 
opinion,  and  even  more,  may  be  sincerely  enter- 
He  fell  in  the  very  height  of  glory.  Just  re-established  in  the 
presidential  chair  by  the  overwhelming  choice  of  his  countrymen, 
rising  into  the  profound  respect  of  the  civilized  world,  permitted  to 
see  his  long  watchings  and  toils  crowned  with  success. — -John  E. 
Todd. 


120  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

tained  by  honest  and  truthful  men ;  yet  all  being 
for  the  Union,  by  reason  of  these  differences,  each 
will  prefer  a  different  way  of  sustaining  the  Union. 
At  once  sincerity  is  questioned  and  motives  are 
assailed. 

"  Actual  war  coming,  blood  grows  hot  and  blood 
is  spilled  ;  thought  is  forced  from  all  channels  into 
confusion ;  deception  breeds  and  thrives, 
confidence  dies,  and  universal  suspicion 
reigns.  Each  man  feels  an  impulse  to  kill  his 
neighbor,  last  he  be  first  killed  by  him;  revenge 
and  retaliation  follow,  and  all  this,  as  before  said, 
may  be  among  honest  men  only.  But  this  is  not 
all ;  every  foul  bird  comes  abroad  and  every  dirty 
reptile  rises  up.  These  add  crime  to  confusion. 
Strong  measures,  deemed  indispensable,  but  harsh 
at  best,  such  men  make  worse  by  maladministration. 

"  Murders  for  old  grudges  and  murders  for  pelf 
proceed  under  any  cloak  that  will  best  cover  for  the 
occasion.  These  causes  amply  account  for  what 
has  occurred  in  Missouri. 

"  The  evils  now  complained  of  were  quite  as  prev- 
alent under  Fremont,  Hunter,  Halleck,  and  Curtis 
as  under  Schofield. 

"Without  disparaging  any,  I  affirm  with  confi- 
dence that  no  commander  of  that  department  has, 
in  proportion  to  his  means,  done  better  than 
General  Schofield." 

It  was  his  task,  as  it  is  every  man's,  to  hew  from  out  a  mass  of 
shapeless  stuff  a  name,  a  character,  and  influence.  But  how  many 
find  their  marble  ready  and  their  tools  at  hand  ?  It  was  not  so  with 
him.  He  was  obliged  to  quarry  his  material  and  to  fashion  his  tools. 
—John  W.  Chadwick. 


WORDS  OF  LINCOLN.  121 

HIS  MOTHER'S   PRAYERS. 

(  Words  uttered  to  a  friend^) 

"  I  remember  her  prayers,  and   they  have  always 
followed  me.     They  have  clung  to  me  all  my  life." 


LETTER   TO  GENERAL    HALLECK, 
OCTOBER  1 6,  1863. 

"  If  General  Meade  can  now  attack  him  on  a  field 

no  more  than  equal  for  us,  and  will  do  so  with  all 

the  skill  and  courage  which  he,  his  officers, 

and  men  possess,  the  honor  will  be  his  if  he 

succeeds,  and  the  blame  may  be  mine  if  he  fails." 


ADDRESS   ON   THE   BATTLEFIELD  OF 
GETTYSBURG. 

(At  the  dedication  of  the  cemetery,  November  ip,  1863?) 

"  Four  score  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers 
brought  forth  on  this  continent  a  new  nation,  con- 
ceived in  Liberty,  and  dedicated  to  the  proposition 
that  all  men  are  created  equal. 

With  a  trusting,  noble,  fearless  heart  he  had  never  hesitated  to 
mingle  with  the  people.  He  had  gone  to  the  front,  and  made 
himself  accessible  to  all  at  home.  He  had  shown  himself  ready 
to  answer  every  reasonable  summons,  and  was  not  afraid  of  any 
living  man. — A.  S.  Patton. 


122  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

"  Now  we  are  engaged  in  a  great  civil  war,  testing 
whether  that  nation,  or  any  nation  so  conceived  and 
so  dedicated,  can  long  endure.  We  are  met  on  a 
great  battlefield  of  that  war.  We  have  come  to 
dedicate  a  portion  of  that  field  as  a  final  resting 
place  for  those  who  here  gave  their  lives  that  that 
nation  might  live.  It  is  altogether  fitting  and 
proper  that  we  should  do  this. 

"  But,  in  a  larger  sense,  we  cannot  dedicate — 
we  cannot  consecrate — we  cannot  hallow — this 
ground.  The  brave  men,  living  and  dead,  who 
struggled  here,  have  consecrated  it,  far  above  our 
poor  power  to  add  or  detract.  The  world  will  little 
note,  nor  long  remember  what  we  say  here,  but  it 
can  never  forget  what  they  did  here.  It  is  for  us 
the  living,  rather,  to  be  dedicated  here  to  the 
unfinished  work  which  they  who  fought  here  have 
thus  far  so  nobly  advanced.  It  is  rather  for  us  to 
be  here  dedicated  to  the  great  task  remaining  before 
us — that  from  these  honored  dead  we  take  increased 
devotion  to  that  cause  for  which  they  gave  the  last 
full  measure  of  devotion — that  we  here  highly 
resolve  that  these  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain— 
that  this  nation,  under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth 
of  freedom — and  that  government  of  the  people,  by 
the  people,  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from  the 
earth." 


President  Lincoln  displayed  a  character  of  so  much  integrity,  sin- 
cerity, and  straightforwardness,  and,  at  the  same  time,  of  so  much 
kindness,  that  if  anyone  could  have  been  able  to  alleviate  the  pain 
and  animosity  which  have  prevailed  during  the  Civil  War,  I  be- 
lieve President  Lincoln  was  the  man  to  have  done  it. — Lord  John 
Russell. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  123 

ASKED    GOD  FOR    VICTORY  AT 
GETTYSBURG. 

(To  General  Sickles,  when  he  asked  Mr.  Lincoln  'what  he 
thought  of  Gettysburg^) 

"  I  had  no  fears  of  Gettysburg,  and  if  you  really 
want  to  know  I  tell  you  why. 

"  In  the  stress  and  pinch  of  the  campaign  there, 
I  went  to  my  room,  and  got  down  on  my  knees  and 
prayed  Almighty  God  for  victory  at  Gettysburg. 

"  I  told  Him  that  this  was  His  country,  and  the 
war  was  His  war,  but  that  we  really  couldn't  stand 
another  Fredericksburg  or  Chancellorsville. 

"And  then  and  there  I  made  a  solemn  vow  with 
my  Maker  that  if  he  would  stand  by  the  boys  at 
Gettysburg  I  would  stand  by  Him.  And  He  did, 
and  I  will. 

"After  this,  I  don't  know  how  it  was,  and  it  is  not 
for  me  to  explain,  but,  somehow  or  other,  a  sweet 
comfort  crept  into  my  soul,  that  God  Al- 
mighty had  taken  the  whole  thing  into  His 
own  hands,  and  we  were  bound  to  win  at  Gettys- 
burg. 

"  No ;  General  Sickles,  I  had  no  fears  of  Gettys- 
burg, and  that  is  the  why." 


I  know  that  Mr.  Lincoln,  as  President  of  the  United  States,  war- 
ranted the  hope  that  in  the  hour  of  victory,  and  in  the  triumph  of 
victory,  he  would  have  shown  that  wise  forbearance  and  that  gener- 
ous consideration  which  would  have  added  tenfold  luster  to  the  fame 
that  he  had  already  acquired  amid  the  varying  fortunes  of  the  war. — 
Sir  George  Grey. 


124  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

CONTINUED  DEPENDENCE  ON  THE 

ARMY  AND   NAVY. 
(Third annual  Message  to  Congress,  December  8,  1863.} 

"  In  the  midst  of  other  cares,  however  important, 
we  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the  war 
power  is  still  our  main  reliance.  To  that 
power  alone  can  we  look,  yet  for  a  time,  to 
give  confidence  to  the  people  in  the  contested  re- 
gions that  the  insurgent  power  will  not  again  over- 
run them.  Until  that  confidence  shall  be  established, 
little  can  be  done  anywhere  for  what  is  called  recon- 
struction. Hence  our  chiefest  care  must  still  be 
directed  to  the  army  and  navy,  who  have  thus  far 
borne  their  harder  part  so  nobly  and  well. 

"  And  it  maybe  esteemed  fortunate  that,  in  giving 
the  greatest  efficiency  to  these  indispensable  arms, 
we  do  also  honorably  recognize  the  gallant  men, 
from  commander  to  sentinel,  who  compose  them, 
and  to  whom,  more  than  to  others,  the  world  must 
stand  indebted  for  the  home  of  freedom,  disen- 
thralled, regenerated,  enlarged,  and  perpetuated." 

PLEA  FOR  THE  COLORED  PEOPLE. 

(Letter,  January  n,  1864,  to  Michael  Hahn,  governor- 
elect  of  Louisiana^) 

"  I  congratulate  you  on  having  fixed  your  name 
in  history  as  the  first  Free  State  Governor  of  Loui- 
siana.    Now  you  are  about  to  have  a  con- 
vention,  which,    among   other    things,    will 

I  am  sure,  as  millions  have  said,  that,  take  him  for  all   in  all,  we 
never  shall  "look  upon  his  like  again.— -J,   W.  Forney. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  125 

probably  define  the  elective  franchise,  I  barely  sug- 
gest, for  your  private  consideration,  whether  some  of 
the  colored  people  may  not  be  let  in,  as,  for  instance, 
the  very  intelligent,  and  especially  those  who  have 
fought  gallantly  in  our  ranks. 

"  They  would  probably  help,  in  some  trying  time 
to  come,  to  keep  the  jewel  of  liberty  in  the  family 
of  freedom." 


U.    S.    GRANT   COMMISSIONED    LIEUTEN- 
ANT GENERAL. 

(Remarks  at  the  presentation  of  the  commission, 
March  Q,  1864^) 

"  The  nation's   appreciation    of   what   you    have 

done,  and  its  reliance  upon  you  for  what  remains 

to  be  done  in  the  existing  great  struggle, 

are  now   presented  with    this    commission, 

constituting  you  Lieutenant  General  in  the  Army  of 

the  United  States.     With  this  high  honor  devolves 

upon  you  also  a  corresponding  responsibility. 

"As  the  country  herein  trusts  you,  so  under  God, 
it  will  sustain  you.  I  scarcely  need  to  add  that, 
with  what  I  here  speak  for  the  nation,  goes  my  own 
hearty  personal  concurrence." 


Some  of  the  grandest  flights  of  oratory  the  world  has  ever  wit- 
nessed have  been  manifested  on  the  great  occasions  which  called 
men  together  during  our  great  war,  but  none  of  them  have  so  taken 
the  popular  heart  as  the  homely  phrases  of  Abraham  Lincoln. — 
Richard  Eddy. 


126  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 


GENERAL   GRANT'S   REPLY. 

"  I  accept  this  commission,  with  gratitude  for  the 
high  honor  conferred.  With  the  aid  of  the  noble 

ig6  armies  that  have  fought  on  so  many  fields 
for  our  common  country,  it  will  be  my 
earnest  endeavor  not  to  disappoint  your  expecta- 
tions. I  feel  the  full  weight  of  the  responsibilities 
now  devolving  on  me,  and  I  know  if  they  are  met, 
it  will  be  due  to  those  armies  ;  and  above  all,  to  the 
favor  of  that  Providence  which  leads  both  nations 
and  men." 


GOD  BLESS  THE  WOMEN  OF  AMERICA. 

(Speech  at  a  Ladies'  Fair  for  the  benefit  of  the  soldiers, 
Washington,  March  16, 1864.) 

"  I  appear  to  say  but  a  word     This  extraordinary 

war  in  which  we  are  engaged  falls  heavily  upon  all 

classes  of  people,  but  the  most  heavily  upon 

the  soldiers.     For  it  has  been  said,  'All  that 

a  man  hath  will  he  give  for  his  life,'  and,  while  all 

contribute   of   their  substance,  the   soldier  puts  his 

life  at  stake,  and  often  yields  it  up  in  his  country's 

cause.      The  highest  merit,  then,  is  due  the  soldier. 

"  In   this  extraordinary  war  extraordinary  devel- 


By  patient  culture,  step  by  step  he  rose 

From  the  rude  cabin  of  the  humblest  poor  ; 

Wrestling  from  year  to  year  with  Life's  stern  foes, 
Till  Victory  opened  wide  her  crystal  door. 

—John  Westall. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  127 

opments  have  manifested  themselves,  such  as  have 
not  been  seen  in  former  wars  ;  and,  among  these 
manifestations,  nothing  has  been  more  remarkable 
than  these  fairs  for  the  relief  of  suffering  soldiers 
and  their  families,  and  the  chief  agents  in  these  fairs 
are  the  women  of  America  ! 

"  I  am  not  accustomed  to  the  use  of  language  of 
eulogy ;  I  have  never  studied  the  art  of  paying 
compliments  to  women ;  but  I  must  say  that,  if  all 
that  has  been  said  by  orators  and  poets  since  the 
creation  of  the  world  in  praise  of  women  were  ap- 
plied to  the  women  of  America,  it  would  not  do 
them  justice  for  their  conduct  during  the  war. 

"  I  will  close  by  saying,  God  bless  the  women  of 
America ! " 


PARDON  FOR  A  SLEEPING  SENTRY. 

(Remarks  made  by  Mr.  Lincoln  to  a  friend  as  he  read  the 
pardon^) 

[Rev.  Newman  Hall  of  England  said,  in  a  sermon 
preached  after  the  President's  death,  that  the  dead 
body  of  this  youth   was   found   among  the 
slain  on  the  battlefield  of    Fredericksburg, 
wearing  next  to  his  heart  a  photograph  of  his  pre- 
server, beneath  which  the  grateful  fellow  had  writ- 
ten, "  God  bless  President  Lincoln."] 

Our  hearts  are  sad,  our  eyes  are  dim  ; 
We  hoped  long  years  of  rest  for  him, 
To  enjoy  the  peace  for  which  he  wrought, 
The  peace  with  his  own  life-blood  bought. 

— S.  G.  W.  Benjamin. 


128  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

"  I  could  not  think  of  going  into  eternity  with 

the  blood  of  the  poor  young  man  on  my  skirts.     It 

is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  a  boy  raised 

on  a  farm,  probably  in  the  habit  of  going  to 

bed  at  dark,   should,   when   required  to  watch,  fall 

asleep ;  and  I  cannot  consent  to  shoot  him  for  such 

an  act." 

"ALREADY  TOO  MANY   WEEPING 
WIDOWS." 

(Reply  to  a  general  who  insisted  on  the  President  signing  the 
warrants  for  the  execution  of  twenty-four  deserters?) 

"  There   are   already  too   many  weeping  widows 
in    the    United    States.      For    God's    sake, 
don't  ask  me  to  add  to  the  number,  for  I 
won't  do  it."  

REPLY  TO  A  PLEA  FOR  THE  LIFE  OF  A 
SOLDIER. 

"  Well,  I  think  the   boy  can   do   us   more   good 
above  the  ground  than  under  it." 


"GOD  ALONE  CAN  CLAIM  IT." 

(Letter  to  A.  G.  Hodges,  April  4,  1864.} 

"  I  attempt  no  compliment  to  my  own  sagacity. 

I   claim  not  to  have  controlled  events,  but 
1864  r 

confess     plainly    that     events     have     con- 
trolled   me. 

Pure  in  life  and  motive,  inflexible  in  his  purpose  to  do  right  as  he 
understood  it. — John  B.  Cough, 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  I2Q 

"  Now,  at  the  end  of  three  years'  struggle,  the 
nation's  condition  is  not  what  either  party  or  any 
man  devised  or  expected.  God  alone  can  claim  it. 
Whither  it  is  tending  seems  plain. 

"  If  God  now  wills  the  removal  of  a  great  wrong, 
and  wills  also,  that  we  of  the  North,  as  well  as  you 
of  the  South,  shall  pay  fairly  for  our  complicity  in 
that  wrong,  impartial  history  will  find  therein  new 
causes  to  attest  and  revere  the  justice  and  goodness 
of  God." 


INTEREST  IN  THE   HAWAIIAN   ISLANDS. 

(To  Hon.  El  is  ha  H.Allen,  Envoy  Extraordinary  from  the 
Islands,  April  11,  1864.} 

"  In  every  light  in  which  the  state  of  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  can  be  contemplated,  it  is  an  object  of  pro- 
found interest  for  the  United  States.  Vir- 
tually it  was  once  a  colony.  It  is  now  a 
near  and  intimate  neighbor.  It  is  a  haven  of  shelter 
and  refreshment  for  our  merchants,  fishermen,  sea- 
men, and  other  citizens,  when,  on  their  lawful 
occasions,  they  are  navigating  the  eastern  seas  and 
oceans.  Its  people  are  free,  and  its  laws,  language, 
and  religion  are  largely  the  fruit  of  our  own  teaching 
and  example.  The  distinguished  part  which  you, 
Mr.  Minister,  have  acted  in  the  history  of  that 
interesting  country  is  well  known  here.  It  gives 
me  pleasure  to  assure  you  of  my  sincere  desire  to 

No  American  president  had  ever  spoken  words  like  these  to  the 
American  people.  America  never  had  a  president  who  found  such 
words  in  the  depths  of  his  heart. — Carl  Schurz. 


130  WORDS   OF  LINCOLN. 

do  what  I  can  to  render  now  your  sojourn  in  the 
United  States  agreeable  to  yourself,  satisfactory  to 
your  sovereign,  and  beneficial  to  the  Hawaiian 
people." 

PRAISE  FOR  THE  COLORED  SOLDIER. 

{Letter  to  General  James  S.   Wadsivorth,  1864..} 

"  How  to  better  the  condition  of  the  colored  race 
has  long  been  a  study  which  has  attracted  my  seri- 
ous and  careful  attention ;  hence  I  think 
I  am  clear  and  decided  as  to  what  course 
I  shall  pursue  in  the  premises,  regarding  it  as  a 
religious  duty,  as  the  nation's  guardian  of  these 
people  who  have  so  heroically  vindicated  their  man- 
hood on  the  battlefield,  where,  in  assisting  to  save 
the  life  of  the  Republic,  they  have  demonstrated 
their  right  to  the  ballot,  which  is  but  the  humane 
protection  of  the  flag  they  have  so  fearlessly  de- 
fended." 


SPEECH  AT  THE  OPENING  OF  A  FAIR. 

(For  the  benefit  of  the  U.  S.  Sanitary  Commission,  Baltimore, 
April  18,  1864) 

"  Calling   to  mind  that  we  are  in  Baltimore,  we 

cannot  fail  to  note  that  the  world  moves.     Looking 

upon   these   many  people  I  see  assembled 

here,  to  serve  as  they  best  may  the  soldiers 

He  rose,  not  like  a  blazing  comet  that  rushes  through  the  sky  and 
is  gone,  but  like  a  star,  gradually  rising  with  increasing  luster,  until 
he  covered  the  whole  nation  with  a  sheen  of  glory. — S.  L.  Yotirtee. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  131 

of  the  Union,  it  at  once  occurs  to  me  that,  three 
years  ago,  the  same  soldiers  could  not  so  much  as 
pass  through  Baltimore.  The  change  from  then  till 
now  is  both  great  and  gratifying.  I  would  say> 
Blessings  upon  the  -men  who  have  wrought  the 
change,  and  the  fair  women  who  strive  to  reward 
them  for  it. 

"  When  the  war  began,  three  years  ago,  neither 
party  nor  any  man  expected  it  would  last  till  now. 
Each  looked  for  the  end,  in  some  way,  long  ere 
to-day.  Neither  did  any  anticipate  that  domestic 
slavery  would  be  much  affected  by  the  war.  But 
here  we  are :  the  war  has  not  ended,  and  slavery 
has  been  much  affected — how  much  need  not  now 
be  recounted.  So  true  it  is  that  man  proposes  and 
God  disposes. 

"The  world  has  never  had  a  good  definition  of 
the  word  liberty,  and  the  American  people,  just 
now,  are  much  in  want  of  one.  We  all  de- 
clare for  liberty,  but  in  using  the  same  word 
we  do  not  all  mean  the  same  thing.  With  some  the 
word  liberty  may  mean  for  each  man  to  do  as  he 
pleases  with  himself  and  the  product  of  his  labor; 
while  to  others  the  same  word  may  mean  for  some 
men  to  do  as  they  please  with  other  men,  and  the 
product  of  other  men's  labor. 

u  Here  are  two  not  only  different,  but  incom- 
patible things,  called  by  the  same  name — liberty. 
And  it  follows  that  each  of  these  things  is,  by  the 

He  makes  his  father's  home,  helps  build  his  house  and  fence  his 
farm,  and  immortalizes  that  humble  form  of  labor  which  renders  the 
title  of  "  rail-splitter  "  a  patent  of  America's  nobility. — Miss  Emma 
Hardinge? 


132  WORDS   OF  LINCOLN. 

respective  parties,  called  by  two  different  and  incom- 
patible names — liberty  and  tyranny. 

"  The  shepherd  drives  the  wolf  from  the  sheep's 
throat,  for  which  the  sheep  thanks  the  shepherd  as  a 
liberator  ;  while  the  wolf  denounces  him  for 
the  same  act,  as  the  destroyer  of  liberty,  es- 
pecially as  the  sheep  was  a  black  one.  Plainly,  the 
sheep  and  the  wolf  are  not  agreed  upon  a  definition 
of  the  word  liberty,  and  precisely  the  same  differ- 
ence prevails  to-day  among  us  human  creatures, 
even  in  the  North,  and  all  professing  to  love  liberty. 

"  At  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  for  some  time, 
the  use  of  colored  troops  was  not  contemplated ; 
and  how  the  change  of  purpose  was  wrought,  I  will 
not  now  take  time  to  explain.  Upon  a  clear  con- 
struction of  duty,  I  resolved  to  turn  that  element  of 
strength  to  account ;  and  I  am  responsible  for  it  to 
the  American  people,  to  the  Christian  world,  to 
history,  and  on  my  final  account  to  God." 


CONSIDERS    GRANT    VIGILANT    AND 
SELF-RELIANT. 

(Letter  to  Lieutenant  General  Grant,  April  30,  1864.} 

"  Not  expecting  to  see  you  before  the  spring  cam- 
paign opens,  I  wish  to  express  in  this  way  my  en- 
tire satisfaction  with  what  you  have  done  up 
to  this  time,  so  far  as  I  understand  it.     The 

For  the  flights  of  impassioned  oratory,  his  emotional  nature  was 
too  sluggish,  or  too  carefully  repressed  ;  but  in  tenderness  and  pathos, 
he  felt  his  way  to  the  heart  with  a  success  that  genius  might  envy. — 
William  Binney. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  133 

particulars  of  your  plans  I  neither  know  nor  seek 
to  know.  You  are  vigilant  and  self-reliant ;  and, 
pleased  with  this,  I  wish  not  to  obtrude  any  re- 
straints or  constraints  upon  you. 

"  While  I  am  very  anxious  that  any  great  disaster 
or  capture  of  our  men  in  great  numbers  shall  be 
avoided,  I  know  that  these  points  are  less  likely  to 
escape  your  attention  than  they  would  mine.  If 
there  be  anything  wanting,  which  is  within  my 
power  to  give,  -do  not  fail  to  let  me  know  it. 

"And  now,  with  a  brave  army,  and  a  just  cause, 
may  God  sustain  you." 


RESTORING  THE  UNION  THE  SOLE  PUR- 
POSE OF  THE  WAR. 

"  There  have  been  men  base  enough  to  propose 
to  me  to  return  to  slavery  the  black  warriors  of  Port 
Hudson  and  Olustee,  and  thus  win  the  re- 
spect of  the  masters  they  fought.  Should  I 
do  so,  I  should  deserve  to  be  damned  in  time  and 
eternity.  Come  what  will,  I  will  keep  my  faith  with 
friend  and  foe. 

"  My  enemies  pretend  I  am  now  carrying  on  this 
war  for  the  sole  purpose  of  abolition.  So  long  as  I 
am  President,  it  shall  be  carried  on  for  the  sole  pur- 
pose of  restoring  the  Union. 

"  But  no  human  power  can  subdue  this  rebellion 


His  constant  touch  and  sympathy  with  the  people  inspired  the 
confidence  which  enabled  him  to  command  aiid  wield  all  the  forces 
of  the  republic. — Chauncey  M,  Depew. 


134  WORDS  OF   LINCOLN. 

without  the  use  of  the  emancipation  policy  and 
every  other  policy  calculated  to  weaken  the  moral 
and  physical  forces  of  the  rebellion." 


ADVICE  TO  AN  OFFICER  WHO  HAD  BEEN 
COURT-MARTIALED  FOR  QUARRELING. 

"  No  man  resolved  to  make  the  most  of  himself 
can  spare  time  for  personal  contention.     Still  less 
can  he  afford  to  take  all  the  consequences, 
including,  the  vitiating  of  his  temper  and  the 
loss  of  self-control.     Yield  larger   things    to  which 
you  can  show  no  more  than  equal  right ;  and  yield 
lesser  ones,  though  clearly  your  own.     Better  give 
your  path  to  a  dog  than  be  bitten  by  him  in  con- 
testing for  the  right ;  even  killing  the  dog  would  not 
cure  the  bite." 


"GOD  BLESS  ALL  THE  CHURCHES." 

(To  a  committee  from   the  Methodist   Conference,  held  in 
Philadelphia,  May,  1864^ 

"  Nobly  sustained  as  the  government  has  been  by 

all  the  churches,  I  would  utter  nothing  which  might, 

in  the  least,  appear  invidious  against  any. 

Yet  without  this  it  may  fairly  be  said  that 

He  was  a  faithful  husband  and  a  kind  father.  All  his  virtues  were 
homebred,  and  a  domestic  sweetness  flavored  his  public  acts.  He 
was  too  much  a  father  to  conduct  the  pitiless  discipline  of  an  army. 
If  a  tired  boy  fell  asleep  on  guard,  he  had  not  the  heart  to  have  him 
shot. — Geo.  L.  Chancy. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  135 

the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  not  less  devoted 
than  the  rest,  is,  by  its  greater  numbers,  the  most 
important  of  all. 

"  It  is  no  fault  in  others  that  the  Methodist 
Church  sends  more  soldiers  to  the  field,  more  nurses 
to  the  hospital,  and  more  prayers  to  heaven  than 
any. 

"  God  bless  the  Methodist  Church  !  bless  all  the 
churches,  and  blessed  be  God  !  who,  in  this,  our 
great  trial,  giveth  us  the  churches." 


PROCLAMATION  OF  THANKSGIVING  AND 
PRAYER. 

(  To  friends  of  Union  and  Liberty,  May  9.  1864.) 

"  Enough   is  known   of  army   operations,   within 

the  last  five  days,  to  claim  our  special   gratitude   to 

God  ;  while   what   remains  undone  demands 

our   most    sincere   prayers   to  and    reliance 

upon  Him,  without  whom  all  effort  is  vain. 

"  I  recommend  that  all  patriots  at  their  homes, 
in  their  places  of  public  worship,  and  wherever  they 
may  be,  unite  in  common  thanksgiving  and  prayer 
to  Almighty  God." 


The  Martyr  President  seals  with  his  blood  the  emancipation  of  a 
race,  and  grasping  four  millions  of  broken  coffles,  ascends  to  the 
bosom  of  his  God,  thus  consecrating  the  land  of  Washington  as  the 
home  of  the  emigrant  and  the  asylum  of  the  oppressed  of  every  clime 
and  of  all  races  of  men. — Galas  ha  A.  Grow. 


136  WORDS  OF  LINCOLN. 

RESPONSE  TO  A   SERENADE  AT  THE 
WHITE  HOUSE. 

(May  7j>,  1864,  in  honor  of  the  victory  won  by  Grant  and  his 
army.) 

"  I  am  indeed  very  grateful  to  the  brave  men  who 

have  been  struggling  with  the  enemy  in  the  field, 

to    their    noble    commanders,     who     have 

directed  them,  and   especially  to  our  Maker. 

While  we  are  grateful   to  all    the   brave   men  and 

officers    for   the  events  of    the  past  few  days,    we 

should,  above   all,  be   very   grateful    to    Almighty 

God,  who  gives  us  victory. 

"  There  is  enough  yet  before  us  requiring  all  loyal 
men  and  patriots  to  perform  their  share  of  the 
labor  and  follow  the  example  of  the  modest  general 
at  the  head  of  our  armies,  and  sink  all  personal 
consideration  for  the  sake  of  the  country." 


A  PESENTIMENT. 

(Remarks  to  Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher  Stowed) 

"  Whichever    way    it   ends,  I    have   the    impres- 
sion   that   I  shall  not  last  long  after    it  is 

1864 

over. 

He  was  not  only  the  head  of  an  administration  which  shaped  events, 
the  mightiest  of  the  century,  but  its  balance  wheel  also.  The  Ameri- 
can people  owe  to  him  that  the  important  steps  in  the  war  for  the 
preservation  of  the  Union  were  taken  just  at  the  fitting  moment. — 
Eugene  Hale. 


Photo  by  Coe,  Washington. 

CHAIR    IN    WHICH    PRESIDENT    LINCOLN    WAS    SEATED    WHEN 
ASSASSINATED. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  137 

WOULD  WILLINGLY  EXCHANGE  PLACES 
WITH  THE    SOLDIER. 

( To  Hon.  Schuyler  Coif  ax,  upon  receiving  bad  news  from  the 

army?) 

"  How  willingly  would  I  exchange  places  to-day 
with  the  soldier  who  sleeps  on  the  ground 
in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  !  ". 


STORY-TELLING  WAS  A  RELIEF. 

(To   a  Congressman  who   objected  to  the  President   telling  a 
story  when  he  had  important  business  to  present .) 

"  You  cannot  be  more  anxious  than  I  am   con- 
stantly ;    and    I   say    to    you    now,  that    if 
it   were    not    for    this    occasional    vent,    I 
should  die." 


"FIRM   BELIEF   IN   AN    OVERRULING 
PROVIDENCE." 

(Interview  with  Rev.  J.  T.  Duryea  of  New  York.) 

"  If  it  were  not  for   my   firm    belief  in    an  over- 
ruling Providence,  it   would   be   difficult   for  me,  in 
the  midst   of  such  complications  of  affairs, 
to  keep  my  reason   on   its  seat.     But  I  am 

I  think  I  never  saw  a  face  from  which  it  was  so  easy  to  get  a  like- 
ness that  all  would  recognize,  and  yet  would  so  little  represent  the 
man  in  his  entireness.  One  artist  only  in  a  thousand  could  fairly 
represent  it.— S.  C.  Thrall. 


138  WORDS  OF   LINCOLN. 

confident  that  the  Almighty  has  His  plans  and  will 
work  them  out  ;  and,  whether  we  see  it  or  not,  they 
will  be  the  wisest  and  best  for  us.  I  have  always 
taken  counsel  of  Him,  and  refer  to  Him  my  plans, 
and  have  never  adopted  a  course  of  proceeding 
without  being  assured,  as  far  as  I  could  be,  of  His 
approbation.  To  be  sure,  He  has  not  conformed 
to  my  desires,  or  else  we  should  have  been  out  of 
our  trouble  long  ago. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  His  will  does  not  seem  to 
agree  with  the  wish  of  our  enemy  over  there  [point- 
ing across  the  Potomac].  He  stands  the  judge 
between  us,  and  we  ought  to  be  willing  to  accept 
His  decisions.  We  have  reason  to  anticipate  that 
it  will  be  favorable  to  us,  for  our  cause  is  right." 


ANYTHING  TO    STRENGTHEN    AND    SUS- 
TAIN GENERAL  GRANT. 

(Answer  to  an  invitation  to  attend  a  meeting  in  New  York 
City,  June  4,  1864,  to  express  gratitude  to  General 
Grant  and  the  soldiers  under  his  command?) 

"  I  approve,  nevertheless,  of  whatever  may  tend 
to  strengthen  and  sustain  General  Grant  and 
the  noble  armies  now  under  his  direction. 
"  My   previous  high   estimate   of    General  Grant 
has  been  maintained   and   heightened    by  what  has 
occurred  in  the  remarkable  campaign  he  is  now  con- 
He  seized  intuitively  upon  the  vital  point  of  every  question,  clearly 
stated  the  real  issue,  ranged  all   subordinate   facts  round  this,  and 
summarily  discarded  everything  which  had  no  relation  to  it. — Mar- 
vin K.   Vincent. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  139 

ducting,  while  the  magnitude   and  difficulty  of  the 
task  before  him  do  not  prove  less  than  I  expected. 

"  He  and  his  brave  soldiers  are  now  in  the  midst 
of  their  great  trial,  and  I  trust  that  at  your  meeting 
you  will  so  shape  your  good  words  that  they  may 
turn  to  men  and  guns,  moving  to  his  and  their 
support."  

SECOND     NOMINATION      FOR     THE 
PRESIDENCY. 

(Response  to  an  address  by  George  W.  Dennison,  President  of 
the  National  Republican  Convention  at  Baltimore,  noti- 
fying Mr.  Lincoln  of  his  nomination.  The  committee 
met  at  the  White  House  on  the  yth  of  June,  1864.) 

"  I   will    neither    conceal    my    gratification,    nor 

restrain  the   expression  of  my  gratitude,   that  the 

Union   people  throughout   this  country,   in 

the  continued  effort  to  save  and  advance  the 

nation,  have  deemed  me  not  unworthy  to  remain  in 

my  present  position." 


TO  A  DELEGATION    OF    THE    NATIONAL 
UNION  LEAGUE. 

(At  the  White  House,  June  p,  1864.) 

"  I  can  only  say,  in  response  to  the  kind   remarks 
of  your   chairman,    as    I    suppose,  that    I   am   very 
grateful  for  the   renewed   confidence  which 
has  been  accorded  to  me  both   by  the  Con- 
He  looked  wide,  and  he  looked  deep,  and  he  looked  all  around, 
and  he  looked  inside  and  outside,  and  he  looked  many  times  before 
he  came  to  a  conclusion. — C.  M.  Build-.. 


140  WORDS  OF   LINCOLN. 

vention  and  by  the  National  League.  I  am  not 
insensible  to  all  the  personal  compliment  there  is  in 
this,  and  yet  I  do  not  allow  myself  to  believe  that 
any  but  a  small  portion  of  it  is  to  be  appropriated 
as  a  personal  compliment ;  that  really  the  conven- 
tion and  the  Union  League  assembled  with  a  higher 
view — that  of  taking  care  of  the  interests  of  the 
country  for  the  present  and  the  great  future — and 
that  the  part  I  am  entitled  to  appropriate  as  a 
compliment  is  only  that  part  which  I  may  lay  hold 
of  as  being  the  opinion  of  the  Convention  and  of 
the  League,  that  I  am  not  entirely  unworthy  to  be 
intrusted  with  the  place  which  I  have  occupied  for 
the  last  three  years. 

"  But  I  do  not  allow  myself  to  suppose  that 
either  the  Convention  or  the  League  have  concluded 
to  decide  that  I  am  either  the  greatest  or  best  man 
in  America,  but  rather  they  have  concluded  that  it 
is  not  best  to  swap  horses  while  crossing  the  river, 
and  have  further  concluded  that  I  am  not  so  poor  a 
horse  that  they  might  not  make  a  botch  of  it  in 
trying  to  swap." 

DISPATCH    TO    GENERAL    GRANT,    JUNE 
15,  1864. 

"Have  just  read    your   dispatch    of  (1.30  P.  M.) 
yesterday.     I  begin  to  see  it;  you  will  suc- 
364     ceed.     God  bless  you  all  !  " 

He  was  one  of  the  people.  He  was  in  sympathy  with  them.  He 
would  never  plant  a  thorn  unnecessarily  in  any  man's  breast.  He 
laid  his  large  heart  alongside  that  of  the  people,  and  every  pulsation 
of  the  one  found  a  responsive  thrill  in  the  other. — Richard  S.  Field. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  14! 

"GOING  THROUGH  ON  THIS  LINE,  IF   IT 
TAKES  THREE  YEARS  MORE." 

(Speech  at  a  Philadelphia  Fair  for  the  benefit  of  the  soldiers, 
June  18,  1864.} 

"War,  at  the  best,  is  terrible,  and  this  war  of  ours, 
in  its  magnitude  and  its  duration  is  one  of  the  most 
terrible.  It  has  deranged  business  totally 
in  many  localities,  and  partially  in  all  locali- 
ties. It  has  destroyed  property  and  ruined  homes ; 
it  has  produced  a  national  debt  and  taxation  unpre- 
cedented, at  least  in  this  country ;  it  has  carried 
mourning  to  almost  every  home,  until  it  can  almost 
be  said  that  the  *  heavens  are  hung  in  black/ 

"Yet  the  war  continues,  and  several  relieving  co- 
incidents have  accompanied  it  from  the  very  begin- 
ning, which  have  not  been  known,  as  I  understand, 
or  have  any  knowledge  of,  in  any  former  wars  in  the 
history  of  the  world. 

"The  sanitary  commission,  with  all  its  benevolent 
labors ;  the  Christian  commission,  with  all  its  Chris- 
tian and  benevolent  labors,  and  the  various  places, 
arrangements,  so  to  speak,  and  institutions,  have 
contributed  to  the  comfort  and  relief  of  the  soldiers. 

"  It  is  a  pertinent  question,  often  asked  in  the 
mind  privately,  and  from  one  to  the  other :  '  When 
is  the  war  to  end  ?'  Surely  I  feel  as  deep  an  inter- 
est in  this  question  as  any  other  can,  but  I  do  not 

He  was  murdered  at  the  very  hour  when  he  was  bending  the 
energies  of  his  clear  head  and  generous  heart  to  the  great  work  of 
healing  the  wounds  of  the  nation  and  restoring  the  breaches  made  by 
the  Rebellion.—  Robert  tf.  Booth. 


142  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

wish  to  name  a  day,  a  month,  or  a  year  when  it  is  to 
end.  I  do  not  wish  to  run  any  risk  of  seeing  the 
time  come  without  our  being  ready  for  the  end,  for 
fear  of  disappointment  because  the  time  has  come 
and  not  the  end. 

"  We  accepted  this  war  for  an  object,  a  worthy 
object,  and  the  war  will  end  when  that  object  is 
attained.  Under  God,  /  hope  it  never  will  end  until 
that  time  ! 

"  Speaking  of  the  present  campaign,  General 
Grant  is  reported  to  have  said,  '  I  am  going  through 
on  this  line,  if  it  takes  all  summer.'  This 
war  has  taken  three  years;  it  was  begun,  or 
accepted,  upon  the  line  of  restoring  the  national 
authority  over  the  whole  national  domain  ;  and  for 
the  American  people,  as  far  as  my  knowledge  en- 
ables me  to  speak,  I  say  we  are  going  through  on 
this  line,  if  it  takes  three  years  more." 


ACCEPTANCE  OF  THE  NOMINATION  FOR 
THE  PRESIDENCY. 

(Letter,  dated  June  27,  1864,  to  Hon.  Wm.  Dennison,  Presi- 
dent Republican  National  Convention.} 

"  The  nomination    is  gratefully   accepted,  as  the 

resolutions  of  the  Convention,  called  the  platform, 

are    heartily    approved.      I    am    especially 

gratified  that  the  soldiers  and  seamen  were 

His  fullness  of  anecdote,  so  effective  in  quickening  the  pulse  and 
cheering  the  heart,  served  a  most  valuable  ulterior  end,  in  compassing 
all  the  elements  of  a  forcible  argument,  and  carrying  deep  conviction 
to  his  auditory. — A.  A.  Miner, 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  143 

not  forgotten  by  the  Convention,  as  they  forever 
must,  and  will,  be  remembered  by  the  grateful 
country  for  whose  salvation  they  devote  their  lives." 


"OUR  CAUSE  IS  JUST,  AND  GOD  IS  ON 
OUR  SIDE." 

{Reply  to  a  company  of  clergymen.} 

"  My  hope  of  success  in  this   great  and  terrible 
struggle  rests    on  that    immutable    foundation,  the 
justice   and    goodness  of   God.     And  when 
events  are  very  threatening  and  prospects 
very  dark,  I  still  hope  in  some  way,  which  man  can- 
not see,  all  will  be  well  in  the  end,  because  our  cause 
is  just,  and  God  is  on  our  side." 


REGARDING  PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS. 

The  following  paper  was  sent  by  the  President, 
July  1 8,  1864,  to  the  Confederate  commissioners  at 
Niagara  Falls,  who  were  empowered  to  negotiate 
peace  : 

"  Any  propositions  which  embrace  the  restoration 

of  peace,  the  integrity  of  the  whole  Union,  and  the 

abandonment  of    slavery,  and   which   come 

by  and  with  an  authority  that  can  control 

His  noble  qualities  inspired  generous  confidence  and  commanded 
general  respect,  and  his  successful  administration  will  be  evidence,  in 
all  time  to  come,  of  his  own  worth  and  the  wisdom  of  his  measures. 
— Lewis  Cass. 


144  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

the  armies  now  at  war  against  the  United  States, 
will  be  received  and  considered  by  the  Executive 
Government  of  the  United  States,  and  will  be  met 
by  liberal  terms  on  other  substantial  and  collateral 
points ;  and  the  bearer  or  bearers  thereof  shall  have 
safe  conduct  both  ways." 


TO  A  COMMITTEE  FROM   THE  GENERAL 

SYNOD    OF    THE     LUTHERAN 

CHURCH,  AUGUST,  1864. 

"  I  welcome  here  the  representatives  of  the  Evan- 
gelical Lutherans  of  the  United  States.  I  accept, 
with  gratitude,  their  assurance  of  the  sym- 
pathy and  support  of  that  enlightened,  in- 
fluential, and  loyal  class  of  my  fellow-citizens  in  an 
important  crisis,  which  involves,  in  my  judgment, 
not  only  the  civil  and  religious  liberties  of  our  own 
dear  land,  but  in  a  large  degree  the  civil  and  re- 
ligious liberties  of  mankind  in  many  countries,  and 
through  many  ages. 

"  You  well  know,  gentlemen,  and  the  world  knows, 
how  reluctantly  I  accepted  this  issue  of  battle 
forced  upon  me,  on  my  advent  to  this  place,  by 
the  infernal  enemies  of  our  country.  You  all  may 
recollect  that  in  taking  up  the  sword  thus  forced 
into  our  hands,  this  government  appealed  to  the 

He  had  found  slavery  in  the  Constitution  that  he  had  sworn  to 
maintain  ;  as  president,  he  had  not  the  right,  therefore,  to  touch  it. 
But  this  same  Constitution  gave  the  president  the  right  to  seize  the 
property  of  the  enemy,  and  to  take  all  measures  necessary  for  the 
suppression  of  the  Rebellion. — Edouard  Laboulaye. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  145 

prayers  of  the  pious  and  the  good,  and  declared  that 
it  placed  its  whole  dependence  upon  the  favor  of 
God. 

"  I  now  humbly  and  reverently,  in  your  presence, 

reiterate  the  acknowledgment  of  that  dependence, 

not  doubting  that    if    it    shall    please    the 

Divine  Being  who  determines  the  destinies 

of  nations,  this  shall  remain  a  united  people.     They 

will,    humbly   seeking   the    Divine  guidance,  make 

their  prolonged  national  existence  a  source  of  new 

benefits  to  themselves  and  their  successors,  and  to 

all  classes  and  conditions  of  mankind." 


'HOLD  ON  WITH  A   BULLDOG  GRIP." 

{Dispatch  to  General  Grant ',  August  77, 1864.) 

"  I    have    seen    your    dispatch    expressing    your 
unwillingness  to  break  your  hold  where  you 
are.     Neither  am  I  willing.     Hold  on  with 
a  bulldog  grip." 

MR.  LINCOLN  SEEKS  RELAXATION. 

Seeking    relaxation    from    the    engrossing   cares 

which  confronted  him  night  and  day,  Mr.  Lincoln 

remarked  to  Schuyler  Colfax,  as  he  went  to 

the  theater  one  evening  after  receiving  in- 

His  words  were  clothed  with  the  force  of  the  law  ;  his  hand  was 
upon  the  secret  spring  of  a  nation's  energies  ;  his  opinions  were 
scanned  and  weighed  as  the  foreshadowing  of  the  settled  policy  of  a 
re-integrated  republic.  On  his  will  and  purpose  largely  depended  the 
peace  of  the  world. — A.  N.  Littlejohn^ 


146  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

telligence  of  what  he    regarded  as  reverses   to  the 
army  of  General  Grant  in  the  Wilderness : 

"  People  may  think  strange  of  it,  but  I  must  have 
some  relief  from  this  terrible  anxiety,  or  it  will  kill 
me." 


ANSWER  TO  AN  APPLICATION  FOR 
PARDON. 

The  following  reply  was  made  by  Mr.  Lincoln  to 
an  application  for  the  pardon  of  a  soldier  who  had 
shown  himself  very  brave  .in  war,  and  had  been 
severely  wounded,  but  afterward  deserted  : 

"Did   you    say   he    was   once    badly    wounded? 
Then,  as  the  Scriptures  say  that  in  the  shed- 
ding  of  blood    is   the    remission  of  sins,  I 
guess  we'll  have  to  let  him  off  this  time." 


"  STAND  FAST  TO  THE  UNION  AND  THE 
OLD  FLAG." 

{Speech  to  the  i^Sth  Ohio  Infantry  Regiment) 

"  It    is   vain   and    foolish  to  arraign  this  man  or 

that  for  the  part  he  has  taken  or  has  not  taken,  and 

to  hold  the  Government  responsible  for  his 

acts.     In    no    administration    can    there    be 

Inured  to  hardships,  poverty,  and  toil, 
He  coolly  parried  each  successive  foil  ; 
Shirking  no  duty,  shrinking  from  no  pain, 
So  Truth  and  Mercy  might  supremely  reign. 

— Mrs.  Caroline  A.  Hayden. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  147 

perfect  equality  of  action  and  uniform  satisfaction 
rendered  by  all. 

"  But  this  Government  must  be  preserved  in  spite 

of  the  acts  of  any  man  or  set  of  men.     It  is  worthy 

your  every  effort.     Nowhere  in  the  world  is 

presented  a  government  of  so  much  liberty 

and  equality.     To  the  humblest  and  poorest  among 

us  are  held  out  the  highest  privileges  and  positions. 

The  present  moment  finds  me  at  the  White  House, 

yet  there  is  as  good  a  chance  for  your  children  as 

there  was  for  my  father's. 

"  Again  I  admonish  you  not  to  be  turned  from 
your  stern  purpose  of  defending  our  beloved  coun- 
try and  its  free  institutions  by  any  arguments  urged 
by  ambitious  and  designing  men,  but  stand  fast  to 
the  Union  and  the  old  flag." 


"WE  WILL  CARRY  OUT  THE  WORK  WE 
HAVE  COMMENCED." 

(Speech  to  the  i64th    Ohio  Infantry  Regiment,   September, 
1864.) 

"  There  is  more  involved  in  this  contest   than  is 

realized  by   everyone.     There    is   involved    in    this 

struggle  the  question  whether  your  children 

and  my  children  shall  enjoy  the    privileges 

we   have  enjoyed.     I  say  this  in   order  to   impress 

"  Forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do  !  " 

He  said,  and  so  went  shriven  to  his  fate  : 
Unknowing  went,  that  generous  heart  and  true, 

Even  while  he  spake  the  slayer  lay  in  wait. 

— Edmund  C.  Stedman. 


148  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

upon  you,  if  you  are  not  already  so  impressed,  that 
no  small  matter  should  divert  you  from  your  great 
purpose.  There  may  be  some  inequalities  in  the 
practical  application  of  our  system.  It  is  fair  that 
each  man  shall  pay  taxes  in  exact  proportion  to  the 
value  of  his  property ;  but  if  we  should  wait  before 
collecting  a  tax  to  adjust  the  taxes  upon  each  man 
in  exact  proportion  with  every  other  man,  we  should 
never  collect  any  tax  at  all. 

"  There  may  be  mistakes  made.  Sometimes 
things  may  be  done  wrong,  while  the  officers  of  the 
Government  do  all  they  can  to  prevent  mis- 
takes ;  but  I  beg  of  you,  as  citizens  of  this 
great  republic,  not  to  let  your  minds  be  carried  off 
from  the  great  work  we  have  before  us. 

"  The  struggle  is  too  large  for  you  to  be  diverted 
from  it  by  any  small  matter.  When  you  return  to 
your  homes,  rise  up  to  the  dignity  of  a  generation  of 
men  worthy  of  a  free  government,  and  we  will  carry 
out  the  work  we  have  commenced." 


INDEBTED  TO  THE   CHRISTIAN  PEOPLE. 

{Letter  to  Mrs.  Eliza  P.  Gurney,  September  30,  1864.) 

"  I  have  not  forgotten,  probably  never  shall,  the 
very  impressive  occasion  when  yourself  and  friends 

visited  me  on  a  Sabbath  forenoon  two  years 
1864 

ago.     Nor   shall   your   kind    letter,  written 

He  was  the  greatest  president  in  American  history,  because  in  a 
time  of  revolution  he  comprehended  the  spirit  of  American  institu- 
tions.— Lyman  Abbott. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  149 

nearly  a  year  later,  ever  be  forgotten.  In  all,  it  has 
been  your  purpose  to  strengthen  my  reliance  in  God. 
I  am  much  indebted  to  the  good  Christian  people 
of  the  country  for  their  constant  prayers  and 
consolations,  and  to  no  one  of  them  more  than  to 
yourself. 

"  The  purposes  of  the  Almighty  are  perfect  and 
must  prevail,  though  we  erring  mortals  may  fail  to 
accurately  perceive  them  in  advance.  We  hoped 
for  a  happy  termination  of  this  terrible  war  long 
before  this,  but  God  knows  best,  and  has  ruled 
otherwise. 

"  We  shall  yet  acknowledge  His  wisdom  and  our 
own  errors  therein  ;  meanwhile  we  must  work  ear- 
nestly in  the  best  light  He  gives  us,  trusting  that  so 
working  still  conduces  to  the  great  ends  He  ordains. 
Surely  He  intends  some  great  good  to  follow  this 
almighty  convulsion,  which  no  mortal  could  make, 
and  no  mortal  could  stay. 

"  Your   people,    the  Friends,  have   had,   and   are 

having,  very   great  trials.     On    principles  and  faith 

opposed  to  both  war  and  oppression,  they 

can  only  practically  oppose    oppression  by 

war.     In  this  hard  dilemma,  some  have  chosen  one 

horn  and  some  the  other.     For  those  appealing  to 

me  on  conscientious  grounds  I  have  done  and  shall 

do  the  best  I  could  and  can  in  my  own  conscience, 

under  my  oath  to  the  law.     That  you  believe  this  I 

No  college  claims  him  as  its  alumnus.  His  alma  mater  was  fixed 
by  Providence  amid  the  woods  and  waters  of  the  then  far  West.  His 
days  were  spent  in  hard  and  ill-remunerating  toil,  and  few  indeed 
were  the  hours  that  could  be  spared  for  what  is  called  intellectual 
improvement.—/.  J.  Carruthers. 


ISO  WORDS  OF  LINCOLN. 

doubt  not,  and  believe  I  shall  still  receive  for  my 
country  and  myself  your  earnest  prayers  to  our 
Father  in  heaven." 


"THE  BEST  GIFT  WHICH  GOD  HAS 
GIVEN  MAN." 

(Reply  to  a  committee  of  loyal  colored  people  of  Baltimore, 
who  presented  the  President  with  a  Bible,  October,  1864.} 

"  I  can  only  say  now,  as  I  have  often  said  before, 
that  it  has  always  been  a  sentiment  with  me  that  all 

ig6  mankind  should  be  free.  So  far  as  I  have 
been  able,  or  so  far  as  came  within  my 
sphere,  I  have  always  acted  as  I  believed  was  right 
and  just,  and  have  done  all  I  could  for  the  good  of 
mankind.  I  have  in  letters  and  documents  sent 
forth  from  this  office  expressed  myself  better  than  I 
can  now. 

"  In  regard  to  the  Great  Book  I  have  only  to  say 
that  it  is  the  best  gift  which  God  has  given  man. 

"  All  the  good  from  the  Saviour  of  the  world  is 
communicated  to  us  through  this  book.  But  for 
this  book  we  could  not  know  right  from  wrong. 
All  those  things  desirable  to  man  are  contained 
in  it." 


Our  children  shall  behold  his  fame, 
The  kindly,  earnest,  foreseeing  man, 
Sagacious,  patient,  dreading  praise,  not  blame, 
New  birth  of  new  soil,  the  first  American. 

— James  Russell  Lowell. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  151 

REGARDING  MARYLAND'S  PROPOSED 
NEW  CONSTITUTION. 

(Letter  to  Henry  W.  Hoffman,  of  Maryland, 
October  18,  1864.) 

"  A  convention  of  Maryland  has  formed  a  new 

constitution    for    the    State ;    a   public   meeting   is 

called  for  this  evening  at  Baltimore,  to  aid 

in   securing  its   ratification,  and    you    ask  a 

word  from  me  for  the  occasion. 

"  I  presume  the  only  feature  of  the  instrument 
about  which  there  is  serious  controversy  is  that 
which  provides  for  the  extinction  of  slavery. 

"  It  needs  not  to  be  a  secret,  and  I  presume  it  is 
no  secret,  that  I  wish  success  to  this  provision.  I 
desire  it  on  every  constitution  ;  I  wish  to  see  all 
men  free.  I  wish  the  national  prosperity  of  the 
already  free,  which  I  feel  sure  the  extinction  of 
slavery  would  bring. 

"  I  wish  to  see  in  progress  of  disappearing  that 
only  thing  which  could  bring  this  nation  to  a  civil 
war. 

"  I  attempt  no  argument.  Argument  upon  the 
question  is  already  exhausted  by  the  abler,  better 
informed,  and  more  immediately  interested  sons  of 
Maryland  herself. 

"  I  only  add  that  I  shall  be  gratified  exceedingly 

Pure  was  thy  life  ;  its  bloody  close 
Has  placed  thee  with  the  sons  of  light, 

Among  the  noblest  host  of  those 
Who  perished  in  the  cause  of  right. 

—  William  C.  Bryant. 


152  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

if  the  good  people  of  the  State  shall  by  their  votes 
ratify  the  new  constitution." 


MARYLAND  ADOPTS   A  CONSTITUTION 
ABOLISHING  SLAVERY. 

(Response  to  a  serenading  party  of  loyal  Mary  landers,  at  the 
White  House,  October  19,  1864.} 

"  Most  heartily  do  I  congratulate  you  and  Mary- 
land, and  the  nation,  and  the  world  upon  the  event, 
I  regret  that  it  did  not  occur  two  years 
sooner ;  which,  I  am  sure,  would  have  saved 
to  the  nation  more  money  than  would  have  met  all 
the  private  loss  incident  to  the  measure.  But  it  has 
come  at  last,  and  I  sincerely  hope  its  friends  may 
fully  realize  all  their  anticipations  of  good  from  it, 
and  that  its  opponents  may,  by  its  effects,  be  agree- 
ably and  profitably  disappointed. 

"  I  am  struggling  to  maintain  the  Government, 
not  to  overthrow  it ;  I  am  struggling  especially  to 
prevent  others  from  overthrowing  it.  I  therefore 
say  that,  if  I  shall  live,  I  shall  remain  President  until 
the  4th  of  next  March,  and  that  whoever  shall  be 
constitutionally  elected,  therefore,  in  November, 
shall  be  duly  installed  as  President  on  the  4th  of 
March,  and  that,  in  the  interval,  I  shall  do  my 
utmost  that  whoever  is  to  hold  the  helm  for  the 

The  flowers  which  were  to  decorate  the  Easter  festival  were  laid 
upon  his  coffin,  and  we  who  had  hoped  to  go  in  faith  to  the  empty 
sepulcher  and  sing  our  carols  of  the  Resurrection,  stood  by  a  newly 
made  grave,  which  received  all  that  was  mortal  of  the  Chief  Magis- 
trate of  the  land. —  Wm.  A.  Snively. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  153 

next  voyage  shall  start  with  the  best  possible  chance 
to  save  the  ship. 

"  This  is  due  the  people  both  on  principle  and 
under  the  Constitution.  Their  will,  constitutionally 
6  expressed,  is  the  ultimate  law  for  all.  If 
they  should  deliberately  resolve  to  have 
immediate  peace,  even  at  the  loss  of  their  country 
and  their  liberties,  I  have  not  the  power  or  the  right 
to  resist  them.  It  is  their  own  business,  and  they 
must  do  as  they  please  with  their  own.  I  believe, 
however,  they  are  still  resolved  to  preserve  their 
country  and  their  liberty,  and,  in  this  office  or  out, 
I  am  resolved  to  stand  by  them. 

"  I  may  add  that,  in  this  purpose  to  save  the 
country  and  its  liberties,  no  class  of  people  seem  so 
nearly  unanimous  as  the  soldiers  in  the  field  and 
seamen  afloat.  Do  they  not  have  the  hardest  of  it? 
Who  should  quail  while  they  do  not? 

"  God  bless  the  soldiers  and  seamen,  with  all  their 
brave  commanders!" 


THANKS  GENERAL  SHERIDAN  AND  HIS 
ARMY. 

(Dispatch  to  General  P.  H.  Sheridan,  October  22,  1864.} 

"  With   great   pleasure  I  tender  to  you  and   your 

brave  army  the  thanks  of  the  nation  and  my  own 

personal   admiration   and    gratitude  for  the 

month's  operations  in  the  Shenandoah  val- 

Abraham  Lincoln,  the  ablest  of  them  all  !     He  lived  and  died  an 
honest  man. — Rufus  Hatch. 


154  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

ley,  and  especially  for  the  splendid  work  of  October 
19,   1864." 


"I  THEN  AND  THERE  CONSECRATED 
MYSELF  TO  CHRIST." 

{Reply  to  an  Illinois  clergyman,  who  asked  Mr.  Lincoln  if  he 
was  a  Christian?) 

"  When   I  left  Springfield,  I  asked  the  people  to 

pray   for   me;    I    was    not   a   Christian.      When    I 

buried  my  son,  the  severest  trial  of  my  life, 

I  was  not  a  Christian.     But  when  I  went  to 

Gettysburg,  and  saw  the  graves  of  thousands  of  our 

soldiers,  I  then  and    there    consecrated    myself    to 

Christ.     I  do  love  Jesus." 


GREATEST   CREDIT   DUE   THE    COMMON 
SOLDIER. 

(Remarks  to  the  iSyth  N.  Y.  Infantry  Regiment, 
October  24,  1864.) 

"  It  is  said  that  we  have  the  best  government  the 
world  ever  knew,  and  I  am  glad    to  meet  you,  the 
supporters   of   that   government.     To   you, 
who  rendered   the  hardest  work  in  its  sup- 
port, should   be  given  the  greatest  credit.     Others 

Amid  the  doings  of  the  great  of  every  clime  will  his  deeds  be 
recorded.  Among  the  teachings  of  the  wise  will  his  sayings  be  writ- 
ten. His  is  a  name  that  will  not  be  forgotten.  The  living  of  to- 
day will  tell  it  to  the  unborn,  and  they  in  turn  will  repeat  it  to  the 
remotest  age. —  William  H.  H.  Murray. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  155 

who  are  connected  with  it,  and  who  occupy  higher 
positions — their  duties  can  be  dispensed  with ;  but 
we  cannot  get  along  without  your  aid.  While 
others  differ  with  the  administration,  and,  perhaps, 
honestly,  the  soldiers  generally  have  sustained  it ; 
they  have  not  only  fought  right,  but,  so  far  as  could 
be  judged  from  their  actions,  they  have  voted  right, 
and  I,  for  one,  thank  you  for  it." 


RESPONSE  TO  A  SERENADE  BY  A  CLUB 
OF  PENNSYLVANIANS. 

(At  the    White    House,   late    on   the  night  of   the  election, 
November  p,  1864.} 

"  I  cannot,  at  this  hour,  say  what  has  been  the 

result  of  the  election ;  but  whatever  it  may  have 

been,    I    have    no    desire    to    modify    this 

opinion,  that  all  who  have  labored  to-day  in 

behalf  of  the  Union  organization  have  wrought  for 

the  best  interests  of  their  country  and  the  world, 

not  only  for  ,the  present,  but  for  all  future  ages. 

"  I  am  thankful  to  God  for  this  approval  of  the 
people.     But,  while  deeply  grateful  for  this  mark  of 
their  confidence  in  me,  if  I  know  my  heart, 
my  gratitude  is  free  from  any  taint  of  per- 
sonal triumph.     I  do  not    impugn   the   motives  of 

His  heart  was  as  warm,  his  nature  as  simple,  his  purpose  as  honest, 
his  judgment  as  strong  and  clear,  his  head  as  cool  amid  all  the 
grandeur  and  glory  of  the  nation's  palace  and  the  shaping  of  the 
nation's  course  and  policy,  as  they  were  beneath  the  humble  roof  of 
his  private  dwelling. — Samuel  K.  Lo^hrop. 


I$6  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

anyone  opposed  to  me.  It  is  no  pleasure  to  me  to 
triumph  over  anyone,  but  I  give  thanks  to  the  Al- 
mighty for  this  evidence  of  the  people's  resolution 
to  stand  by  free  government  and  the  rights  of 
humanity." 


SPEECH  TO  CAMPAIGN  CLUBS. 

{Assembled  at  the  White  House  to  serenade  the  President  on 
the  night  of  November  10,  1864^} 

"  It  has  long  been  a  grave  question  whether  any 
government,  not  too  strong  for  the  liberties  of  its 
people,  can  be  strong  enough  to  maintain  its 
;    existence    in   great    emergencies.      On    this 
point  the  present  rebellion  brought  our  government 
to  a  severe  test,  and  a  Presidential  election,  occur- 
ring in  a  regular  course  during  the  rebellion,  added 
not  a  little  to  the  strain. 

"  If  the  loyal  people  united  were  put  to  the  ut- 
most of  their  strength  by  the  rebellion,  must  they 
not  fail  when  divided  and  partially  paralyzed 
by  a  political  war  among  themselves  ?     But 
the  election  was  a  necessity. 

"  We  cannot  have  free  governments  without  elec- 
tions ;  and  if  the  rebellion  could  force  us  to  forego 
or  postpone  a  national  election,  it  might  fairly  claim 
to  have  already  conquered  and  ruined  us. 

In  four  hours  after  Abraham  Lincoln  died,  Andrew  Johnson  of 
Tennessee  was  inaugurated  President  of  the  United  States.  Our 
government  rests  upon  the  basis  of  liberty,  justice,  and  humanity, 
and  our  glorious  fabric  will  continue  to  stand  and  tower,  the  admira- 
tion of  the  world. — Charles  Backman. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  157 

"The  strife  of  the  election  is  but  human  nature 
practically  applied  to  the  facts  of  the  case. 

"  Human  nature  will  not  change.  In  any  future 
great  national  trial,  compared  with  the  men  of  this, 
we  will  have  as  weak  and  as  strong,  as  silly  and  as 
wise,  as  bad  and  as  good.  Let  us,  therefore,  study 
the  incidents  of  this  as  philosophy  to  learn  wisdom 
from,  and  none  of  them  as  wrongs  to  be  revenged. 

"  But  the  election,  along  with  its  incidental  and 
undesirable  strife,  has  done  good,  too.  It  has  dem- 
onstrated that  a  people's  government  can 
sustain  a  national  election  in  the  midst  of  a 
great  civil  war.  Until  now,  it  has  not  been  known 
to  the  world  that  this  was  a  possibility.  It  shows, 
also,  how  sound  and  how  strong  we  still  are.  It 
shows,  also,  to  the  extent  yet  known,  that  we  have 
more  men  now  than  we  had  when  the  war  began. 
Gold  is  good  in  its  place  ;  but  living,  brave,  and 
patriotic  men  are  better  than  gold. 

"  So  long  as  I  have  been  here  I  have  not  willingly 
planted  a  thorn  in  anyone's  bosom.  While  I  am 
duly  sensible  to  the  high  compliment  of  a  re-elec- 
tion, and  duly  grateful,  as  I  trust,  to  Almighty  God 
for  having  directed  my  countrymen  to  a  right  con- 
clusion, as  I  think,  for  their  good,  it  adds  nothing 
to  my  satisfaction  that  any  other  man  may  be  dis- 
appointed by  the  result. 

"  May  I  ask  those  who  have  not  differed  with  me 
to  join  with  me  in  this  spirit  toward  those  who 
have." 

A  thousand  years  hence,  no  story,  no  tragedy,  no  epic  poem  will 
be  filled  with  greater  wonder  or  be  read  with  deeper  feeling  than  that 
which  tells  of  his  life  and  death. — H^nry  Watterson. 


158  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 


"ONLY  MORTAL,  AFTER   ALL." 

(Remarks  to  a  friend  in  a  conversation  on  the  Presidential 
election?) 

"  Being  only  mortal,  after  all,  I  should  have  been 
a  little  mortified  if  I  had  been  beaten   in   this  can- 
vass  before    the    people ;    but    that    sting 
would    have  been  more  than  compensated 
by  the  thought   that    the    people    had    notified   me 
that  all  my  official   responsibilities  were  soon  to  be 
lifted  off  my  back." 


A  LETTER  OF  GRATITUDE. 

(Written  to  Deacon  John  Phillips  of  Stockbridge,  Mass.. 
who,  though  104  years  old,  voted  for  President  Lincoln 
in  November  t  1864.) 

"  I    have  heard   of   the   incident  at  the  polls  in 
your  town,  in  which  you  acted  so   honorable  a  part, 
and  I  take  the  liberty  of  writing  to  you  to 
express  my  personal  gratitude  for  the   com- 
pliment paid  me  by  the    suffrage  of    a  citizen  so 
venerable. 

"The  example  of  such  devotion  to  civic  duties  in 
one  whose  days  have  already  been  extended  an 
average  lifetime  beyond  the  Psalmist's  limits,  can- 
not but  be  valuable  and  fruitful.  It  is  not  for 

His  words  and  his  deeds  were  one.  The  grand  unity  of  truth 
wrought  them  into  its  clear  consistency.  P'ew  men  have  lived  who 
held  over  the  people,  by  simple  integrity,  such  prevailing  power,  or 
demonstrated  to  the  world  such  a  scope  of  uprightness. — Henry 
Fowler. 


WORDS   OF    LINCOLN.  159 

myself  only,  but  for  the  country  which  you  have  in 
your  sphere  served  so  long  and  so  well,  that  I 
thank  you." 


RATIFYING  THE    ELECTION. 

(Speech  at  a  meeting  in  front  of  the  White  House, 
November  20,  1864^ 

"  I  thank   you,   in   common  with   all  others  who 

have    thought    fit    by    your    votes     to    indorse    the 

Republican  cause.    Yet  in  all  our  rejoicing 

let    us     neither     express,    nor   cherish,    any 

harsh  feeling  towards  any  citizen   who   by  his  vote 

has  differed  with  us. 

"  Let  us  at  all  times  remember  that  all  American 
citizens  are  brothers  of  a  common  country,  and 
should  dwell  together  in  the  bonds  of  fraternal 
feeling." 


LETTER  TO  A  GRIEF-STRICKEN  MOTHER. 

( To  Mrs.  Bixby  of  Boston,  Mass.,  November  21,  1864^ 

"  I    have    been    shown    on   the    file    of   the   War 

Department  a  statement  of  the  adjutant  general  of 

Massachusetts,  that  you  are  the  mother  of 

five  sons  who   have  died  gloriously  on  the 

field  of  battle.     I  feel  how  weak  and  fruitless  must 

Mr.  Lincoln's  mind  was  slow,  angular,  and  ponderous,  rather  than 
quick  and  finely  discriminating,  and  in  time  his  great  powers  of 
reason  on  cause  and  effect,  on  creation  and  relation,  on  substance 
and  on  truth,  would  form  a  proposition,  an  opinion,  wisely  and  well. 
—F.  B.  Carpenter. 


l6o  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

be  any  word  of  mine  which  should  attempt  to 
beguile  you  from  the  grief  of  a  loss  so  overwhelm- 
ing ;  but  I  cannot  refrain  from  tendering  to  you  the 
consolation  that  may  be  found  in  the  thanks  of 
the  republic  they  died  to  save. 

u  I  pray  that  our  Heavenly   Father  may  assuage 

the  anguish  of   your  bereavement,  and  leave  only 

the  cherished  memory  of  the  loved  and  lost, 

and  the  solemn   pride  that   must  be  yours 

to  have  laid  so  costly  a  sacrifice  upon  the  altar  of 

freedom." 


"OUR   PEOPLE   CAN    AFFORD    TO    BE 
MAGNANIMOUS." 

(Interview  with  Charles  Maltby,  December,  1864) 

"  My  own   feelings  have  also    changed    much    in 

that  direction,  and  I  am  much  gratified  to  see  that 

it  is  the  growing  sentiment  of  the  people. 

In  the  final  success  of  the  Union  cause,  our 

people  can  afford  to  be  magnanimous  and   still  be 

just.     I  can  see  and  feel  that  there  are  many  reasons 

why  this  should  be  so. 

"  We  have  not  been  fighting  aliens,  but  misled, 
misguided  friends  and  brothers,  members  of  our  own 
household  ;  and  we  may  grant  and  forgive  much 
when  we  take  into  consideration  what  have  been 

And  his  last  act  (Oh,  gentle,  kindly  heart  !), 
The  noble  prompting  of  unselfish  grace, 

He  would  not  disappoint  the  waiting  crowd, 
Who  came  to  gaze  upon  his  honored  face. 

— Lucy  Hamilton  Hooper. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  l6l 

the  teachings  and  influences  which  have  formed  and 
molded  the  public  sentiments  and  private  feelings 
of  that  people.  And  now,  when  final  success  is 
obtained,  which  appears  assured,  I  think  the  great 
object  then  to  be  first  accomplished  and  to  have  in 
view,  should  be  to  bring  back  and  restore  the  rela- 
tion of  the  several  rebel  States  to  the  Union  and  to 
their  original  and  former  standing.  This  may  be 
done  in  a  spirit  of  conciliation,  friendship,  and  for- 
bearance which  should  characterize  a  generous  and 
forgiving  people.  To  effect  this  desirable  object, 
I  think  that  we  should  deal  with  them  as  gener- 
ously as  the  interests  of  the  government  and  the 
public  safety  will  permit." 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  MESSAGE  TO  CON- 
GRESS,  DECEMBER   6,    1864. 

"  The  most  remarkable    feature    in   the    military 
operations   of   the  year   is    General    Sherman's   at- 
tempted   march    of    three   hundred   miles    directly 
through  the  insurgent  region.     It  tends  to 
show  a  great  increase  of  our  relative  strength 
that    our   general-in-chief  should  feel  able  to   con- 
front and   hold  in   check  every  active   force   of  the 
enemy,  and   yet    to  detach  a  well-appointed  large 
army  to  move  on   such   an  expedition.     The  result 

In  her  furnace  the  centuries  had  welded 

Their  fetter  and  chain  ; 
And  like  withes,  in  the  hands  of  his  purpose, 

He  snapped  them  in  twain. 

—Phoebe  Cary. 


l62  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

not  yet  being  known,  conjecture  in  regard  to  it  is 
not  here  indulged. 

"  Important  movements  have  also  occurred  dur- 
ing the  year  to  the  effect  of  molding  society  for 
durability  in  the  Union.  Although  short 
of  complete  success,  it  is  much  in  the  right 
direction  that  twelve  thousand  citizens  in  each  of 
the  States  of  Arkansas  and  Louisiana  have  organ- 
ized loyal  State  governments,  with  free  constitu- 
tions, and  are  earnestly  struggling  to  maintain  and 
administer  them.  The  movements  in  the  same 
dirction — more  extensive,  though  less  definite— in 
Missouri,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee  should  not  be 
overlooked.  But  Maryland  presents  the  example 
of  complete  success.  Maryland  is  secure  to  liberty 
and  union  for  all  the  future.  The  genius  of  rebel- 
lion will  no  more  claim  Maryland.  Like  another 
foul  spirit,  being  driven  out,  it  may  seek  to  tear  her, 
but  it  will  woo  her  no  more. 

"  In  presenting  the  abandonment  of  armed 
resistance  to  the  national  authority  on  the  part  of 
the  insurgents,  as  the  only  indispensable  condition 
to  ending  the  war  on  the  part  of  the  government, 
I  retract  nothing  heretofore  said  as  to  slavery. 

"  I  repeat  the  declaration,  made  a  year  ago,  that 
while  I  remain  in  my  present  position  I  shall  not 
attempt  to  retract  or  modify  the  emancipation 
proclamation,  nor  shall  I  return  to  slavery  any  per- 

For  unselfish  devotion  to  the  public  welfare,  purity  of  character, 
freedom  from  partisanship  and  personal  ambition,  and  ability  to  com- 
prehend and  deal  with  the  momentous  questions  at  issue  in  our  great 
struggle  for  national  existence,  he  was  first  among  the  ablest  states- 
men and  most  loyal  men  of  his  time. —  T.  S.  Arthur. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  163 

son  who  is  free  by  the  terms  of  that  proclama- 
tion, or  by  any  of  the  acts  of  Congress. 

"  If  the  people  should,  by  whatever  mode  or 
means,  make  it  an  executive  duty  to  re-enslave  such 
persons,  another,  and  not  I,  must  be  their  instru- 
ment to  perform  it. 

"  In  stating  a  single  condition  of  peace,  I  mean 
simply  to  say  that  the  war  will  cease  on  the  part 
of  the  government  whenever  it  shall  have  ceased 
on  the  part  of  those  who  began  it." 


"ALL  ANIMATED    BY  THE  SAME  DETER- 
MINATION." 

(Reply  to  an  invitation  to  attend  the  annual  festival  of  the 
New  England  Society,  December  22, 1864,  to  commemorate 
the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims.} 

"  I  cannot  but  congratulate  you  and  the  country, 
however,  upon  the  spectacle  of  devoted  unanimity, 
presented  by  the  people  at  home,  the  citizens 
that   form   our  marching  columns,  and    the 
citizens  that  fill  our  squadrons  on  the  sea,  all  ani- 
mated by  the  same  determination  to  complete  the 
work  our  fathers  began  and  transmitted. 

"  The  work  of  the  Plymouth  emigrants  was  the 
glory  of  their  age.  While  we  reverence  their 

To  the  young  men  I  would  say,  Listen  to  him,  imitate  his  glorious 
life,  live  like  him,  for  God,  your  country,  and  the  rights  of  all  men. 
Be  pure  in  heart  and  purpose  as  was  your  great  President.  Be  loyal 
as  he  was  loyal.  Let  the  inspiration  of  his  memory  be  one  of  the 
guiding  stars  of  your  future  life. — M^P.  Caddis. 


164  WORDS  OF  LINCOLN. 

memory,  let  us  not  forget  how  vastly  greater  is  our 
opportunity." 


"  EVER  ANXIOUS  TO  AID  THE  GOOD 
CAUSE." 

(Reply  to  an  invitation  from  the  lady  managers  of  a  soldiers' 
fair,  held  at  Springfield,  Mass.,  in  December,  1864.} 

"Grateful  for  the  compliment,  and  ever  anxious 
to  aid  the  good  cause  in  which  you  are  engaged,  I 

1864  yet  am  comPelled,  by  public  duties  here,  to 
decline  your  kind  invitation.  The  recent 
good  news  from  Generals  Sherman,  Thomas,  and, 
indeed,  from  nearly  all  quarters,  will  be  far  better 
than  my  presence,  and  will  afford  all  the  impulse 
and  enthusiasm  you  will  want." 


GOD  WILL  CONTROL  THE  HEARTS  OF 
THE  PEOPtE. 

(Reply  to   Messrs.  Wilson,  of  Iowa,  and  Casey  of  Kentucky, 
when  one  said  "  he  had  faith  that  Providence  is  with  us.") 

"  I  have  a  higher  faith  than  yours.     I  have  faith, 
not  only   that  God    is  with    our  cause,  but 
that  He  will  control  the  hearts  of  the  people 
so  that  they  will  be  faithful  to  it,  too." 

His  had  been  the  most  fearful  responsibility  under  which  man  had 
stood  in  modern  times — responsibility  which  had  furrowed  brow  and 
cheek  with  ceaseless  cares  and  great  anxieties — and  he  was  barely 
permitted  to  taste  the  rewards  of  a  faithful  stewardship. —  William 
T.  Wilson. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  165 

CARE  AND  ANXIETY  OF  THE 
PRESIDENT. 

(Remarks  to  Charles  Maltby,  who  called  to  see  the  President 
in  December,  1864.) 

"  Since  the  people  called  me  to  the  position  I 
now  occupy,  four  years  ago,  I  cannot  recall 
a  day  devoid  of  care  and  anxiety. 

"  While  the  physical  labors  during  that  period 
have  been  beyond  description,  the  mental  excite- 
ments, responsibilities,  and  hopes,  followed  by  dis- 
appointments, have  worn  me  away  as  you  see  .me 
to-day. 

u  But  I  see  now  much  to  hope  for  the  future  ; 
the  people  have,  by  their  votes,  approved,  thus  far, 
my  administration  and  policy,  and  the  positions  of 
Generals  Grant  and  Sherman  with  their  armies  give 
assurance  that  the  days  of  the  rebellion  are  drawing 
to  a  close." 


HONOR  TO  GENERAL  SHERMAN. 

{Dispatch  to  General  Sherman,  December  26, 


"  When  you  were  about  leaving  Atlanta  for  the 

Atlantic   Coast,  I   was  anxious,  if   not   fearful;  but 

feeling  that  you  were  the  better  judge,  and 

remembering  that  '  nothing  risked,  nothing 

Who  can  say  that  the  President  did  not  lay  down  his  life  by  the 
firmness  of  his  devotion  to  a  great  duty  ?  The  name  of  Lincoln  will 
remain  one  of  the  greatest  that  history  has  to  inscribe  on  its  annals. 
—Merle  D'Aubignt. 


l66  WORDS   OF  LINCOLN. 

gained/  I  did  not  interfere.  Now,  the  undertaking 
being  a  success,  the  honor  is  all  yours ;  for  I  believe 
none  of  us  went  further  than  to  acquiesce." 


WILL  FAVOR  THE  SOLDIERS  OF  THE 
NATION. 

(Reply  to  an  address  from  the  Bureau  of  the  Employment  of 
disabled  and  discharged  soldiers?) 

"  It  gives  me  pleasure  to  assure  you  of  my  hearty 

concurrence  with   the  purpose  you  announce,  and  I 

shall  at  all  times  be  ready  to  recognize  the 

paramount    claims    of  the   soldiers   of   the 

nation  in  the  disposition  of  public  trusts.     I  shall  be 

glad,  also,  to  make  these   suggestions  to  the  several 

heads  of  departments." 


PRINCETON   COLLEGE  CONFERS  THE 
DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  LAWS. 

(Letter  of  thanks,  December  27,  1864^) 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt 
of  your  note  of  the  2oth  of  December,  conveying 

the  announcement  that  the  Trustees  of  the 
1864 

College  of  New  Jersey  had  conferred  upon 
me  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws. 

He  has  never  betrayed  or  deserted  a  principle.  When  his  posi- 
tions have  finally  been  taken,  he  has  stood  like  a  shaft  of  adamant  in 
a  stormy  ocean,  which  no  howling  of  the  storm  or  dashing  of  the 
waves  could  shake.— -J.  D.  Strong. 


WORDS  OF   LINCOLN.  l6/ 

"  The  assurance,  conveyed  by  this  high  compli- 
ment, that  the  course  of  the  Government  which  I 
represent  has  received  the  approval  of  a  body  of 
gentlemen  of  such  character  and  intelligence,  in 
this  time  of  public  trial,  is  most  grateful  to  me. 

"  Thoughtful  men  must  feel  that  the  fate  of  civili- 
zation upon  this  continent  is  involved  in  the  issue  of 
our  contest.  Among  the  most  gratifying  proofs  of 
this  conviction  .is  the  hearty  devotion  everywhere 
exhibited  by  our  schools  and  colleges  to  the  national 
cause.  I  am  most  thankful  if  my  labors  have 
seemed  to  conduce  to  the  preservation  of  those 
institutions  under  which  alone  we  can  expect  good 
government  and  in  its  train  sound  learning  and 
the  progress  of  the  liberal  arts." 


ACKNOWLEDGMENT  OF   A  VASE  OF 

SKELETON  FLOWERS  FROM  THE 

BATTLEFIELD  OF  GETTYSBURG. 

(Presented  by  some  ladies,  January,  fSdj.) 

"  I  accept  with  emotions  of  profoundest  gratitude 

the   beautiful  gift  you  have  been  pleased  to  present 

to    me.      So  much    has    been    said    about 

Gettysburg,    and    so    well,    that    for  me    to 

attempt   to  say  more  may  perhaps    only  serve    to 

When  the  fragments  of  his  history,  now  reposing  in  the  hearts  of 
those  whom  he  befriended,  in  the  hearts  of  his  associates  in  council, 
in  official  actions  and  State  papers,  have  all  been  brought  together 
by  competent  hands,  then  will  his  character  appear  brighter  and 
brighter. — H.  L.  Morehouse. 


l68  WORDS  OF   LINCOLN. 

weaken  the  force  of  that  which  has  already  been 
said. 

"  A  most  graceful  and  eloquent  tribute  was  paid 
to  the  patriotism  and  self-denying  labors  of  the 
American  ladies  on  the  occasion  of  the  consecra- 
tion of  the  National  Cemetery  at  Gettysburg  by 
our  illustrious  friend  Edward  Everett,  now,  alas  ! 
departed  from  earth. 

"  His  life  was  a  truly  great  one,  and  I  think  the 
greatest  part  of  it  was  that  which  crowned  its  closing 
years.  I  wish  you  to  read — if  you  have  not  already 
done  so — the  eloquent  and  truthful  words  which  he 
then  spoke  of  the  women  of  America.  Truly,  the 
service  they  have  rendered  to  the  defenders  of  our 
country  in  this  perilous  time,  and  are  yet  rendering, 
can  never  be  estimated  as  they  ought  to  be." 


"WITH  MALICE  TOWARD  NONE,  WITH 
CHARITY  FOR  ALL." 

(Second  Inaugural  Address,  March  4,  1865.) 

"  Fellow-countrymen :    At  this  second  appearing 

to  take  the  oath  of  the  Presidential  office,  there  is 

less  occasion  for  an  extended  address  than 

5     there  was  at  the  first.     Then  a   statement, 

somewhat    in    detail,    of   a   course    to    be    pursued 

seemed  fitting  and  proper.     Now,  at  the  expiration 

He  offered  no  shining  qualities  at  the  first  encounter  ;  he  did  not 
offend  by  superiority  ;  he  had  a  face  and  manner  which  disarmed  sus- 
picion, which  inspired  confidence,  which  confirmed  good  will. — Ralph 
W.  Emerson. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  169 

of  four  years,  during  which  public  declarations  have 
been  constantly  called  forth  on  every  point  and 
phase  of  the  great  contest  which  still  absorbs  the 
attention  and  engrosses  the  energies  of  the  nation, 
little  that  is  new  could  be  presented. 

"  The  progress  of  our  arms,  upon  which  all  else 
chiefly  depends,  is  as  well  known  to  the  public  as  to 
myself,  and  it  is,  I  trust,  reasonably  satisfactory  and 
encouraging  to  all.  With  high  hope  for  the  future, 
no  prediction  in  regard  to  it  is  ventured. 

"  On  the  occasion  corresponding  to  this,  four 
years  ago,  all  thoughts  were  anxiously  directed  to 
an  impending  civil  war.  All  dreaded  it ;  all  sought 
to  avert  it.  While  the  inaugural  address  was  being 
delivered  from  this  place,  devoted  altogether  to  sav- 
ing the  Union  without  war,  insurgents'  agents  were 
in  the  city  seeking  to  destroy  it  without  war — seek- 
ing to  dissolve  the  Union  and  divide  its  effects  by 
negotiation. 

"  Both  parties  deprecated  war ;  but  one  of  them 
would  make  war  rather  than  let  the  nation  survive, 
and  the  other  would  accept  war  rather  than  let  it 
perish.  And  the  war  came. 

"  The  prayer  of  both  could  not  be  answered — 
those  of  neither  have  been  answered  fully.  The 
Almighty  has  His  own  purposes.  *  Woe  unto  the 
world  because  of  offenses !  for  it  must  needs  be  that 
offenses  come ;  but  woe  to  that  man  by  whom  the 
offense  cometh.' 

And  upon  nothing  will  memory  more  delight  to  dwell  than  upon 
that  high,  forgiving  temper  which  lifts  up  a  fallen  foe,  restores  a  wan- 
dering brother,  and  repays  the  cruelty  of  hatred  by  an  overcoming 
benignity  and  love. — Stephen  If.  Tyyg. 


170  WORDS  OF  LINCOLN. 

"  If  we  shall  suppose  that  American  slavery  is  one 
of  those  offenses  which,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
must  needs  come,  but  which,  having  continued 
through  His  appointed  time,  He-now  wills  to  remove, 
and  that  He  gives  to  North  and  South  this  terrible 
war  as  the  woe  due  to  those  by  whom  the  offense 
came,  shall  we  discern  therein  any  departure  from 
those  divine  attributes  which  the  believers  in  a  liv- 
ing God  always  ascribe  to  Him  ?  • 

"  Fondly  do  we  hope,  fervently  do  we  pray,  that 
this  mighty  scourge  of  war  may  soon  pass  away. 

"  Yet,  if  God  wills  that  it  continue  until  all  the 
wealth  piled  by  the  bondsman's  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years  of  unrequited  toil  shall  be  sunk,  and  until 
every  drop  of  blood  drawn  by  the  lash  shall  be  paid 
by  another  drawn  with  the  sword,  as  was  said  three 
thousand  years  ago,  so  still  it  must  be  said,  '  The 
judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and  righteous 
altogether.' 

"  With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all, 
with  firmness  in  the  right,  as  God  gives  us  to  see 
the  right,  let  us  strive  on  to  finish  the  work  we  are 
in ;  to  bind  up  the  nation's  wounds;  to  care  for  him 
who  shall  have  borne  the  battle,  and  for  his  widow 
and  for  his  orphan  ;  to  do  all  which  may  achieve  and 
cherish  a  just  and  lasting  peace  among  ourselves, 
and  with  all  nations." 


Greater  difficulties  than  his  no  one  ever  met  ;  heavier  responsibili- 
ties than  his  never  burdened  any  human  soul,  and  through  the  whole 
he  has  borne  himself  with  a  calmness,  a  patience,  a  perseverance,  a 
steadfastness  of  aim,  an  honesty  of  purpose,  a  fidelity  to  his  country, 
that  will  assign  to  him  an  eminent  place  in  the  history  of  the  world. — 
Samuel  T.  Spear. 


WORDS  OF   LINCOLN.  I?I 

-NO  CESSATION  OF  HOSTILITIES  SHORT 
OF  THE  END  OF  THE  WAR." 

(Instructions  given  to  Win.  H.  Seward,  at  the  meeting  of 
Messrs.  Stevens,  Hunter,  and  Campbell  at  Fortress 
Monroe,  Va.,  January  ji, 


"  First,  the  restoration  of  the  national  authority 
throughout  all  the   States;  second,  no  receding  by 

the  Executive  of  the  United  States,  on  the 
1865 

slavery  question,  from  the  position  assumed 

thereon  in  the  late  annual  message  to  Congress  and 
in  the  preceding  documents  ;  no  cessation  of  hos- 
tilities short  of  the  end  of  the  war  and  the  disband- 
ing of  all  the  forces  hostile  to  the  government." 


REGARDING  HIS  SECOND  ANNUAL 
ADDRESS. 

(Letter  to  Thurlow  Weed,  March  15,  186^ 

"  Everyone  likes  a  compliment.     Thank  you  for 
yours  on    my  little  notification  speech  and  on  the 
recent  inaugural  address.     I  expect  the  lat- 
ter to  wear  as  well  as,  perhaps  better  than, 
anything  I  have  produced  ;  but  I  believe   it  is  not 
immediately  popular. 

"  Men  are  not  flattered  by  being  shown  that  there 

His  public  career,  from  the  lowest  station  to  the  highest,  was 
singularly  pure.  It  challenges  investigation.  To  him  as  rightfully 
as  to  any  man  in  all  the  land,  was  applied  by  his  admiring  country- 
men the  term  honest. — -John  Farquhar. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

has  been  a  difference  of  purpose  between  the  Al- 
mighty and  them. 

"  To  deny  it,  however,  in  this  case  is  to  deny  that 
there  is  a  God  governing  the  world. 

"  It  is  a  truth  which  I  thought  needed  to  be  told, 
and,  as  whatever  of  humiliation  there  is  in  it  falls 
most  directly  on  myself,  I  thought  others  might 
afford  for  me  to  tell  it." 


AT    THE    PRESENTATION    OF    A 
CAPTURED    FLAG. 

Remarks  to  the  i4Oth  Indiana  Volunteers,  in  front 
of  the  National  Hotel,  Washington,  March  17,  1865, 
upon  the  presentation  by  the  regiment  of  a  captured 
flag  to  Governor  O.  P.  Morton  of  Indiana: 

"  I  was  born  in  Kentucky,  raised  in  Indiana,  and 

lived  in  Illinois ;  and  now  I  am  here,  where  it  is  my 

business  to  care  equally  for  the  good  people 

of   all    the  States.      I    am    glad    to  see    an 

Indiana  regiment  on  this  day  able  to   present  the 

captured  flag  to  the  Governor  of  Indiana.     I  am 

not  disposed,  in  saying  this,  to  make  a  distinction 

between    the    States ;    for   all    have    done    equally 

well." 


War  at  his  feet  his  thundering  trump  had  dashed, 
And  Peace  was  taking  up  her  warbling  lyre, 

And  flowers  were  burying  soft  the  thorns,  when  flashed, 
How  quick  !  how  deadly,  the  assassin's  fire  ! 

—Alfred  B.  Street. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  173 


WITH    GRANT   AT   CITY   POINT. 

Having  a  great  desire  to   see  the  Army  of  the 

Potomac,    the    President   visited    General    Grant's 

headquarters  at  City  Point.     While  at  the 

front,    he    telegraphed    Secretary    of    War 

Stanton  as  follows : 

"  All  seems  well  with    us,  and  everything  quiet 
just  now." 


HAPPIEST  DAY  OF  THE  FOUR   YEARS. 

The  following  remarks  were  made  by  the  Presi- 
dent to  Admiral  David  D.  Porter,  while  on  board 
the  flag-ship  Malvern,  on  the  James  River  in  front 
of  Richmond  the  day  the  city  surrendered : 

"Thank  God,  that   I  have   lived   to  see  this!     It 
seems  to  me  that  I  have  been  dreaming  a 
horrid  dream   for  four  years,  and   now  the 
nightmare  is  gone.     I  want  to  see  Richmond." 


NEGROES  KNEEL   AT  THE  PRESI- 
DENT'S FEET. 

While  the  President  was  walking  through  the 
streets  of  Richmond,  Va.,  April  4,  1865,  some 
negroes  knelt  at  his  feet  and  thanked  him  for  their 

Like  the  unfinished  work  of  the  artist,  which  needs  only  the 
slightest  touch  upon  eye  or  mouth  to  round  and  complete  the  like- 
ness, so  the  work  of  this  patient  and  unpretending  ruler  needed 
but  the  touch  of  death  to  render  it  immortal. — -J.  E.  Rankin. 


WORDS    OF   LINCOLN. 

freedom.     The  President  replied,  in  his  characteris- 
tic way,  as  follows : 

"  Don't   kneel    to   me — that    is    not    right.     You 

must  kneel   to   God  only,  and  thank  Him  for  the 

liberty  you  will   hereafter  enjoy ;    I  am  but 

God's  humble  instrument ;  but  you  may  rest 

assured  that  as  long  as  I  live  no  one  shall  put  a 

shackle  on   your  limbs,  and   you  shall  have  all  the 

rights   which    God    has   given    to   every  other  free 

citizen  of  this  republic." 


REMARKS  TO   NEGROES  IN  THE 
STREETS   OF    RICHMOND. 

The  President  walked  through  the  streets  of 
Richmond — without  a  guard  except  a  few  seamen — 
in  company  with  his  son  "  Tad,"  and  Admiral 
Porter,  on  the  4th  of  April,  1865,  the  day  following 
the  evacuation  of  the  city.  Colored  people  gathered 
about  him  on  every  side,  eager  to  see  and  thank 
their  liberator.  Mr.  Lincoln  addressed  the  follow- 
ing remarks  to  one  of  these  gatherings : 

"  My  poor  friends,  you  are  free — free  as  air.     You 

can  cast  off  the  name  of  slave  and  trample  upon  it ; 

it    will    come    to   you  no  more.     Liberty  is 

your  birthright.     God  gave  it  to  you  as  he 

gave  it  to  others,  and  it  is  a  sin  that  you  have  been 

deprived  of  it  for  so  many  years. 

Like  the  mighty  oak  which  towers  far  above  its  fellows  here,  he 
was  a  growth  of  the  forces  of  nature,  and  one  cannot  resist  the  con- 
clusion that  he  was  prepared,  in  a  special  sense,  by  God,  for  the  work 
he  had  to  do. —  Willard  Warner. 


WORDS  OF   LINCOLN.  175 

"  But  you  must  try  to  deserve  this  priceless  boon. 
Let  the  world  see  that  you  merit  it,  and  are  able 
to  maintain  it  by  your  good  works.  Don't  let  your 
joy  carry  you  into  excesses  ;  learn  the  laws,  and 
obey  them.  Obey  God's  commandments,  and  thank 
Him  for  giving  you  liberty,  for  to  Him  you  owe  all 
things.  There,  now,  let  me  pass  on ;  I  have  but 
little  time  to  spare.  I  want  to  see  the  Capitol,  and 
must  return  at  once  to  Washington  to  secure  to  you 
that  liberty  which  you  seem  to  prize  so  highly." 


SHAKES    HANDS  WITH  OVER  SIX 
THOUSAND  SOLDIERS. 

Remarks  made  by  the  President  to  the  Medical 
Director,  at  City  Point,  Va.,  April  8,  1865,  when  he 
devoted  the  whole  day  to  shaking  hands  with  over 
six  thousand  soldiers  in  the  hospitals,  giving  them 
words  of  cheer  and  sympathy,  as  from  a  father  to 
his  children  : 

"  I  have  come  to  see  the  boys  who  have  fought 

the   battles    of   the   country,    and    particularly   the 

battles  which  resulted  in  the  evacuation  of 

Richmond.     I  desire  to  take  these  men  by 

the  hand,  as  it  will  probably  be  my  last  opportunity 

of  meeting  them." 


Over  our  Washington's  river, 

Sunrise  beams  rosy  and  fair  ; 
Sunset  on  Sangamon  fairer  ; 

Father  and  martyr  lies  there. 

— Edna  Dean  Proctor. 


176  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 


NOT  SCARED  ABOUT  HIMSELF. 

Reply  to  Schuyler  Colfax,  when  told  how  uneasy 
all  had  been  at  his  going  to  Richmond : 

"  Why,  if  anyone  else  had  been   President,  and 
had  gone  to  Richmond,  I  would  have  been 
alarmed  ;  but   I  was  not  scared  about  my- 
self a  bit." 


TO  A    PARTY   OF   SERENADERS  BEFORE 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE. 

(Assembled  on  the  afternoon  of  April  10,  1865.) 

"  I  am  informed  that  you  have  assembled  here 
this  afternoon  under  the  impression  that  I  had 

made  an  appointment  to  speak  at  this  time. 

This  is  a  mistake.  I  have  made  no  such 
appointment.  More  or  less  persons  have  been 
gathered  here  at  different  times  during  the  day,  and 
in  the  exuberance  of  their  feeling,  and  for  all  of 
which  they  are  greatly  justified,  calling  upon  me  to 
say  something,  and  I  have  from  time  to  time  been 
sending  out  what  I  suppose  was  proper  to  disperse 
them  for  the  present.  I  therefore  say  to  you  that 
I  shall  be  quite  willing,  and  I  hope  ready,  to  say 
something  when  a  general  demonstration  takes 
place ;  whereas  just  now  I  am  not  ready  to  say  any- 
Born  in  the  humblest  walks  of  life,  and  unaided  by  education  or 
by  fortune,  Abraham  Lincoln,  by  his  own  endeavors  and  native 
resources,  attained  to  the  highest  honor  of  the  Republic. — David 
Davis. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  1/7 

thing  that  one  in  my  position  ought  to  say.  Every- 
thing I  say,  you  know,  goes  into  print.  If  I  make 
a  mistake,  it  doesn't  merely  affect  me,  or  you,  but 
the  country.  I,  therefore,  ought  at  least  try  not  to 
make  mistakes." 


"'  DIXIE/  OUR  LAWFUL  PRIZE." 

(Speech  at  a  gathering  before  the  White  House  in  the  forenoon 
of  April  10,  1865,  rejoicing  over  the  surrender  of  Lee's 
ariny.) 

11 1  am  very  greatly  rejoiced  that  an  occasion  has 
occurred  so  pleasurable  that  the  people  can't  re- 
strain themselves.  I  suppose  that  arrange- 
ments are  being  made  for  some  sort  of 
formal  demonstration,  perhaps  this  evening  or  to- 
morrow night.  If  there  should  be  such  a  demon- 
stration, I,  of  course,  shall  have  to  respond  to  it, 
and  I  shall  have  nothing  to  say  if  I  dribble  it  out 
before. 

"  I  see  you  have  a  band.  I  propose  now  closing 
up  by  requesting  you  to  play  a  certain  air,  or  tune. 
I  have  always  thought  '  Dixie '  one  of  the  best 
tunes  I  ever  heard.  I  have  heard  that  our  adver- 
saries over  the  way  have  attempted  to  appropriate 
it  as  a  national  air.  I  insisted  yesterday  that  we 
had  fairly  captured  it.  I  presented  the  question  to 

We  cannot  overrate  the  value  to  us  of  those  steady  nerves,  those 
lithe,  tough  muscles,  that  hardy,  robust  frame,  which  had  been  secured, 
in  so  great  degree,  by  the  wholesome  habits  of  his  early  life. — Henry 
A.  Nelson. 


178  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

the  Attorney  General,  and  he  gave  his  opinion  that 
it  is  our  lawful  prize.  I  ask  the  band  to  give  us  a 
good  turn  upon  it." 


LAST  PUBLIC  ADDRESS  OF  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN. 

(Remarks  on  April  n,  1865,  to  a  gathering  at  the  White 
House  on  the  fall  of  Richmond.} 

11  We  meet  this  evening  not  in  sorrow,  but  in 
gladness  of  heart. 

"  The  evacuation  of  Petersburg  and  Richmond, 
and  the  surrender  of  the  principal  insurgent  army, 
give  hope  of  a  righteous  and  speedy  peace, 
whose  joyous  expression  cannot  be  re- 
strained. 

"  In  the  midst  of  this,  however,  He  from  whom 
all  blessings  flow  must  not  be  forgotten.  Nor  must 
those  whose  harder  part  give  us  the  cause  of  rejoic- 
ing be  overlooked  ;  their  honors  must  not  be  par- 
celed out  with  others. 

"  I  myself  was  near  the  front,  and  had  the  high 
pleasure  of  transmitting  the  good  news  to  you ;  but 
no  part  of  the  honor,  for  plan  or  execution,  is  mine. 
To  General  Grant,  his  skillful  officers  and  brave 
men,  all  belongs." 


At  the  hour  of  his  death  he  occupied  the  loftiest  pinnacle  of  honor 
ever  reached  by  man.  This  leader  of  such  a  nation  in  its  supreme 
crisis,  foremost  in  the  files  of  time,  was  likewise,  through  the  mercy 
of  God,  invested  with  a  heritage  in  the  celestial  kingdom. —  Wheelock 
Craig. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  1/9 

ONE  OF    THE    LAST   LETTERS   WRITTEN 
BY  THE  PRESIDENT. 

The  following  letter  was  written  by  the  President, 
under  date  of  April  14,  1865,  to  General  Van  Allen 
of  New  York,  who  had  asked  Mr.  Lincoln  not  to  ex- 
pose his  life  unnecessarily,  as  he  had  done  at  Rich- 
mond, and  assuring  him  of  the  earnest  desire  of  all 
of  his  countrymen  to  close  the  war  he  had  so 
successfully  conducted. 

"  I  intend  to  adopt  the  advice  of  my  friends  and 
use  precaution.  I  thank  you  for  the  assurance  you 
give  me  that  I  shall  be  supported  by  con- 
servative men  like  yourself  in  the  efforts  I 
may  make  to  restore  the  Union,  so  as  to  make  it,  to 
use  your  own  language,  a  union  of  hearts  and  hands 
as  well  as  of  States." 


LAST  VERBAL  MESSAGE. 

(A  verbal  message  given  to  Hon.  Schuyler  Coif  ax,  April  14, 
1 863,  for  the  miners  of  the  West.) 

"  I  want  you  to  take  a  message  from  me  to  the 

miners  whom  you  visit.     I  have  very  large  ideas  of 

the  mineral  wealth  of  our  nation.     I  believe 

it  practically  inexhaustible.     It  abounds  all 

over  the  Western  country,  from  the   Rocky  Moun- 

Plain  in  body  and  mind,  simple  and  direct  in  speech,  great,  rugged, 
sincere,  a  passionate  lover  of  liberty,  trained  in  the  people's  school 
to  be  their  own  unyielding  instrument,  regarding  their  rights  and 
prosperity.— J.  C.  Black. 


l8o  WORDS   OF   LINCOLN. 

tains  to  the  Pacific,  and  its  development  has  scarcely 
commenced. 

"  During  the  war,  when  we  were  adding  a  couple 
of  millions  of  dollars  every  day  to  our  national 
debt,  I  did  not  care  about  encouraging  the  increase 
in  the  volume  of  our  precious  metal.  We  had  the 
country  to  save  first.  But,  now  that  the  rebellion 
is  overthrown,  and  we  know  pretty  nearly  the 
amount  of  our  national  debt,  the  more  gold  and 
silver  we  mine  makes  the  payment  of  that  debt  so 
much  the  easier.  Now,  I  am  going  to  encourage 
that  in  every  possible  way. 

"  We  shall  have  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dis- 
banded soldiers,  and  many  have  feared  that  their 
return  home  in  such  great  numbers  might  paralyze 
industry  by  furnishing  suddenly  a  greater  supply  of 
labor  than  there  will  be  a  demand  for. 

"  I  am  going  to  try  and  attract  them  to  the  hid- 
den wealth  of  our  mountain  ranges,  where  there  is 
room  enough  for  all.  Immigration,  which  even  the 
war  has  not  stopped,  will  land  upon  our  shores 
hundreds  of  thousands  more  per  year  from  over- 
crowded Europe.  I  intend  to  point  them  to  the 
gold  and  silver  that  waits  for  them  in  the  West. 

"  Tell  the  miners,  from  me,  that  I  shall  promote 
their  interests  to  the  utmost  of  my  ability,  because 
their  prosperity  is  the  prosperity  of  the  nation ;  and 
we  shall  prove,  in  a  very  few  years,  that  we  are,  in- 
deed, the  treasury  of  the  world" 

He  sought  to  make  every  man  better  and  happier.  He  delighted 
in  opportunities  to  sympathize  with  the  suffering  and  sorrowing,  and 
in  smoothing  the  pillow  of  a  dying  soldier,  or  in  listening  to  the 
grief  of  a  stricken  mother. — R.  Jeffery, 


HOUSE    IN    WHICH    LINCOLN    DIED,   516    IOTH    STREET,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


WORDS   OF   LINCOLN.  l8l 

REMARKS  TO  HIS  WIFE  ON  THE 
FATAL  DAY. 

(Remarks  made  by  the  President  to  his  ivife  while  they  were 
out  driving  in  an  open  carriage  on  the  afternoon  of  April 
14,  1865,  when  Mrs.  Lincoln  said :  "  You  almost  startle 
me  by  your  cheerfulness"} 

"  And  well  I  may  feel  so,  Mary,  for  I  consider 
this  day  the  war  has  come  to  a  close.     We  must 
both    be   more  cheerful   in   the   future  ;  be- 
tween the  war  and  the  loss  of  our  darling 
Willie,  we  have  been  very  miserable." 


LAST    WRITTEN    WORDS    OF    ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN. 

Given  to  Mr.  Ashmun  as  the  President  and  Mrs. 
Lincoln  were  leaving  the  White  House,  a  few 
minutes  before  eight  o'clock,  on  the  evening  of 
April  14,  1865  : 

"  Allow  Mr.  Ashmun  and  friend  to  come  to  me 
at  9  o'clock  A.  M.,  to-morrow,  April  15, 

1865." 

Sleep  there  calmly,  thou  under  whose  administration  a  race  has 
broken  its  shackles  and  risen  from  its  degradation.  Over  thy  bier 
that  race  has  shed  more  heartfelt  tears  than  ever  before  moistened 
the  couch  of  an  earthly  ruler.— -John  Chester. 


LINCOLN    MONUMENT,    SPRINGFIELD,    ILL. 


In  this  monument  sleeps  the  Apostle  of  Liberty. 

J.  L.  BEVERIDGE. 


TRIBUTES. 


CHIEFTAIN,  farewell !  The  nation  mourns  thee. 
Mothers  shall  teach  thy  name  to  their  lisping 
children.  The  youth  of  our  land  shall  emulate  thy 
virtues.  Statesmen  shall  study  thy  record,  and 
learn  lessons  of  wisdom.  Mute  though  thy  lips  be, 
yet  they  still  speak.  Hushed  is  thy  voice,  but  its 
echoes  of  liberty  are  ringing  through  the  world,  and 
the  sons  of  bondage  listen  with  joy. 

MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 


Four  years  ago,  oh,  Illinois,  we  took  him  from 
your  midst,  an  untried  man  from  among  the  people. 
Behold,  we  return  him  a  mighty  conqueror.  Not 
thine,  but  the  nation's;  not  ours,  but  the  world's ! 
Give  him  place,  ye  prairies !  In  the  midst  of  this 
great  continent  his  dust  shall  rest,  a  sacred  treasure 
to  myriads  who  shall  pilgrim  to  that  shrine,  to 
kindle  anew  their  zeal  and  patriotism. 

HENRY  WARD  BEECHER. 

183 


1 84  TRIBUTES. 

The  grave  that  receives  the  remains  of  Lincoln 
receives  the  costly  sacrifice  to  the  Union  ;  the  monu- 
ment which  will  rise  over  his  body  will  bear  witness 
to  the  Union ;  his  enduring  memory  will  assist  dur- 
ing countless  ages  to  bind  the  States  together,  and 
to  incite  to  the  love  of  our  one  undivided,  indivisible 
country. 

GEORGE  BANCROFT. 


Abraham  Lincoln  mastered  the  problem  com- 
mitted to  his  hands.  He  felt  that  he  was  acting  not 
merely  for  a  single  hour,  but  for  all  time.  The 
question  for  decision  was,  "  Whether  this  nation,  or 
any  other  nation,  conceived  in  liberty,  and  dedicated 
to  the  proposition  that  all  are  equal,  can  long- 
endure." 

GEORGE  W.  BRIGGS. 


A  man  of  great  ability,  pure  patriotism,  unselfish 
nature,  full  of  forgiveness  to  his  enemies,  bearing 
malice  toward  none,  he  proved  to  be  the  man 
above  all  others  for  the  struggle  through  which  the 
nation  had  to  pass  to  place  itself  among  the  great- 
est in  the  family  of  nations.  His  fame  will  grow 
brighter  as  time  passes  and  his  great  work  is  better 

understood. 

U.  S.  GRANT. 


TRIBUTES.  185 

A  statesman  of  the  school  of  sound  common 
sense,  and  a  philanthropist  of  the  most  practical 
type,  a  patriot  without  a  superior — his  monument  is 
a  country  preserved. 

C.  S.  HARRINGTON. 


For  many  a  year,  and  many  an  age, 
While  history  on  her  ample  page 
The  virtues  shall  enroll 
Of  that  paternal  soul ! 

RICHARD  HENRY  STODDARD. 


He  ascended  the  mount  where  he  could  see  the 
fair  fields  and  the  smiling  vineyards  of  the  promised 
land.  But,  like  the  great  leader  of  Israel,  he  was 
not  permitted  to  come  to  the  possession. 

SETH  SWEETSER. 


In  his  freedom  from  passion  and  bitterness  ;  in  his 
acute  sense  of  justice  ;  in  his  courageous  faith  in 
the  right,  and  his  inextinguishable  hatred  of  wrong; 
in  warm  and  heartfelt  sympathy  and  mercy ;  in  his 
coolness  of  judgment ;  in  his  unquestioned  rectitude 
of  intention— in  a  word,  in  his  ability  to  lift  himself 
for  his  country's  sake  above  all  mere  partisanship, 
in  all  the  marked  traits  of  his  character  combined, 
he  has  had  no  parallel  since  Washington,  and  while 
our  republic  endures  he  will  live  with  him  in  the 
grateful  hearts  of  his  grateful  countrymen. 

SCHUYLER   COLFAX. 


1 86  TRIBUTES. 

Now  all  men  begin  to  see  that  the  plain  people, 
who  at  last  came  to  love  him  and  to  lean  upon  his 
wisdom,  and  trust  him  absolutely,  were  altogether 
right,  and  that  in  deed  and  purpose  he  was  earnestly 
devoted  to  the  welfare  of  the  whole  country,  and  of 
all  its  inhabitants. 

R.  B.  HAYES. 


At  the  moment  when  the  stars  of  the  Union, 
sparkling  and  resplendent  with  the  golden  fires  of 
liberty,  were  waving  over  the  subdued  walls  of 
Richmond  the  sepulcher  opens,  and  the  strong,  the 
powerful  enters  it. 

SR.  REBELLO  DA  SILVA. 


To  him  belongs  the  credit  of  having  worked  his 
way  up  from  the  humblest  position  an  American 
freeman  can  occupy  to  the  highest  and  most 
powerful,  without  losing,  in  the  least,  the  simplicity 
and  sincerity  of  nature  which  endeared  him  alike  to 
the  plantation  slave  and  the  metropolitan  millionaire. 

The  most  malignant  party  opposition  has  never 
been  able  to  call  in  question  the  patriotism  of  his 
motives,  or  tarnish  with  the  breath  of  suspicion  the 
brightness  of  his  spotless  fidelity.  Ambition  did  not 
warp,  power  corrupt,  nor  glory  dazzle  him. 

WARREN  H.  CUDWORTH. 


TRIBUTES.  IS/ 

By  his  steady,  enduring  confidence  in  God,  and  in 
the  complete  ultimate  success  of  the  cause  of  God, 
which  is  the  cause  of  humanity,  more  than  in  any 
other  way  does  he  now  speak  to  us,  and  to  the 
nation  he  loved  and  served  so  well. 

P.  D.  GURLEY. 


Abraham  Lincoln  was  born,  and,  until  he  became 
President,  always  lived  in  a  part  of  the  country 
which,  at  the  period  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, was  a  savage  wilderness.  Strange  but 
happy  Providence,  that  a  voice  from  that  savage 
wilderness,  now  fertile  in  men,  was  inspired  to  up- 
hold the  pledges  and  promises  of  the  Declaration  ! 
The  unity  of  the  republic  on  the  indestructible 
foundation  of  liberty  and  equality  was  vindicated 
by  the  citizen  of  a  community  which  had  no  exist- 
ence when  the  republic  was  formed. 

A  cabin  was  built  in  primitive  rudeness,  and  the 
future  President  split  the  rails  for  the  fence  to 
inclose  the  lot.  These  rails  have  become  classical 
in  our  history,  and  the  name  of  rail-splitter  has  been 
more  than  the  degree  of  a  college.  Not  that  the 
splitter  of  rails  is  especially  meritorious,  but  because 
the  people  are  proud  to  trace  aspiring  talent  to 
humble  beginnings,  and  because  they  found  in  this 
tribute  a  new  opportunity  of  vindicating  the  dignity 
of  free  labor. 

CHARLES  SUMNER. 


188  TRIBUTES 

A  brighter  and  yet  more  tender  page  of  our  country's  history  can- 
not be  written  than  that  which  will  refer  to  the  words  and  deeds  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  during  the  last  month  of  his  life. — A.  G.  Thomas. 

As  true  to  humanity  as  he  had  always  been  faithful  to  his  country, 
his  last  words  were  a  prayer  and  benediction  for  his  enemies. — 
fiobert  P.  Porter. 

His  life  and  character  are  substantial  things  in  the  world's  history, 
upon  which  time,  after  a  rigid  scrutiny,  will  pass  an  irreversible 
judgment. — Frederick  7'.  Frelinghuysen. 

His  name  will  ever  be  in  the  hearts  of  the  American  people,  as 
green,  as  fresh,  and  as  pleasant  as  is  to  the  eyes  the  tender  grass 
springing  out  of  the  earth  by  clear  shining  after  rain. — Morgan  Dix. 

I  could  wish  that  fitting  words  would  offer  themselves  to  me  to 
add  to  the  multitude  of  tributes  to  the  memory  of  Abraham  Lincoln. — 
O.  W.  Holmes. 

I  think  all  must  be  agreed,  that  in  a  trial  which,  perhaps  more  than 
any  other,  tested  the  moral  quality  of  the  man,  he  performed  his 
duty  with  simplicity  and  strength. — Benjamin  Disraeli. 

The  Emancipation  Proclamation  lifts  him  to  a  niche  in  the  temple 
of  fame  an  arrow's  shot  higher  than  any  ever  held  by  any  living 
American. — J.  D.  Fulton. 

He  did  not  seek  to  say  merely  the  thing  that  was  for  the  day's 
debate,  but  the  thing  which  would  stand  the  test  of  time  and  square 
itself  with  eternal  justice. — -James  G.  Elaine. 

Whatever  you  have  of  civil  order,  of  civil  law,  is  the  free  gift  of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  the  tenderness  and  charities  of  whom  were  as  inevi- 
table to  his  nature  as  light  to  the  sun. — Stephen  A.  Hurlbut. 

Anything  which  tends  to  bring  the  honest,  true  life  of  so  grand  a 
man  to  the  thoughts  and  hearts  of  each  generation  is  a  worthy  work. — 
S.  J.  Kirkwood. 


TRIBUTES  189 

His  fame  will  grow  brighter  and  grander  as  it  descends  the  ages, 
and  posterity  will  regard  him  as  the  incarnation  of  democracy  in  its 
pure  childhood. — Henry  C.  Dening. 

It  was  a  hard  life,  a  busy  life,  an  American  life,  and  a  great  life, 
and  it  rendered  service  to  the  country  which  can  hardly  be  over- 
estimated.— Roscoe  Conkling. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  lifted  by  the  force  of  his  unrivaled  genius  from 
the  mass  of  the  people,  the  immutable  basis,  the  granite  of  our 
civilization,  to  an  elevation  of  solitary  grandeur. — G.  de  la  Matyr. 

He  was  a  thorough  American,  carrying  a  cairn  mind  and  tender 
heart,  with  a  firm  sense  of  right,  through  the  stormy  period  of  civil 
strife. — Howard  Crosby. 

I  believe  that,  under  the  providence  of  God,  he  was,  next  to 
Washington,  the  greatest  instrument  for  the  preservation  of  the 
Union  and  the  integrity  of  the  country. — Peter  Cooper. 

The  peer  of  the  proudest  monarch,  and  in  every  position  the  same 
plain,  honest,  prudent  man — safe  in  council,  wise  in  action,  and  pure 
in  purpose. — John  C.  New. 

He  spoke  to  all  mankind  words  of  patriotism,  admonition,  and 
pathos  which  will  continue  to  sound  through  the  ages  as  long  as  the 
flowers  shall  bloom  or  the  waters  flow. — Alexander  H.  Rice. 

He  was  a  good  father  to  his  children,  and  a  good  president  to  the 
people,  whom  he  loved  as  if  they  had  been  his  children. — Charles 
Godfrey  Leland. 

Abraham  Lincoln  is  one  of  the  most  commanding  figures  in  his- 
tory. The  world  has  confirmed  and  history  has  recorded  it.  When 
he  died,  it  was  as  a  conqueror. — Samuel  Adams  Drake. 

A  great,  a  good  man  has  gone,  in  the  fullness  of  his  fame,  in  the 
height  of  his  glory,  to  join  the  sages  and  patriots  of  the  Revolution- 
ary days. — Benj.  F.  Butler. 


TRIBUTES 

They  all  knew  Mr.  Lincoln's  characteristic  clemency,  and  that  the 
terms  of  the  peace  he  was  intent  on  were  exceedingly  mild. — Gerrit 
Smith. 

No  man  could  have  endured  so  much  without  some  recreation,  and 
that  humor  was  to  him  what  a  safety  valve  is  to  an  engine. — Hannibal 
Hamlin. 

He  had  a  sterling  common  sense,  a  vein  of  humor,  an  unselfish 
patriotism,  which  secured  for  him  a  lasting  place  in  the  catalogue  of 
the  world's  leaders. —  George  P.  Fisher. 

Had  he  lived,  the  long  and  bitter  struggle  over  reconstruction 
would  never  have  been  initiated,  and  peace  and  prosperity  would  have 
followed  the  laying  down  of  arms. —  Win.  F.  Smith. 

He  stands  before  us  all,  as  he  has  stamped  himself  ineffaceably  on 
the  pure  silver  of  the  national  heart,  all  fluent  and  melted  in  the 
fervid  heat  of  the  fiery  war. — Henry  W.  Foote. 

More  distinctly  than  any  other  president  since  Washington,  he 
irradiated  the  official  pathway  at  all  times  and  in  all  places  with  the 
conspicuous  publicity  of  Christian  ethics. — Alex.  H.  Bullock. 

His  mind  was  so  vigorous,  his  comprehension  exact  and  clear,  and 
his  judgment  so  sure,  that  he  easily  mastered  the  intricacies  of  his 
profession. —  Thomas  Drummond. 

His  heart  knew  no  guile,  but  into  its  richest,  deepest  soil,  tender 
love  for  the  liberty  of  every  man  that  breathes  struck  deep  into  its 
roots. —  Thomas  Armitage. 

In  the  supreme  crisis  of  American  history,  his  faith  in  the  ultimate 
triumph  of  popular  institutions  never  failed  him.  By  that  faith  he 
saved  the  nation. —  William  C.  Morey. 

Studying  his  grammar  by  the  fire-light  of  a  log  cabin  when  a  boy, 
he  addressed  the  Senate  and  people  from  the  capital  of  a  great 
nation. — -James  Freeman  Clark. 


TRIBUTES  IQI 

Never  was  the  title  honest  so  expressive  of  character.  Honest  not 
only  in  action  and  word,  but  also  in  thought  and  feeling  and  purpose. 
— Horace  Maynard. 

In  every  position  in  life,  from  his  humble  beginning  to  the  present 
well-earned  elevation,  he  has  more  than  fulfilled  the  best  hopes  of  his 
friends. — Edward  Bates. 

Nothing  which  can  be  done  to  perpetuate  his  fame,  to  keep  him 
ever  before  the  coming  generations  of  his  countrymen,  should  be 
omitted. — C.  F.  Burn  am. 

He  believed  that  this  people  were  in  the  especial  keeping  of  Provi- 
dence, and  that  it  was  his  duty  as  President  to  await  the  expressed 
will  of  God,  and  then  to  act. — George  H.  Hepworth. 

The  elements  of  his  character  was  a  love  of  freedom  and  of  law, 
perceptions  of  the  right  thing  to  do  and  the  right  time  to  do  it,  all 
regulated  by  a  sober  faith  in  divine  Providence. — A.  Cleveland  Coxe. 

He  could  receive  counsel  from  a  child  and  give  counsel  to  a  sage. 
The  simple  approached  him  with  ease,  and  the  learned  approached 
him  with  deference. — Frederick  Douglass. 

His  elevation  to  the  highest  honor  within  the  gift  of  the  people 
did  not  alter  his  feelings  or  deportment  toward  his  acquaintances, 
however  humble. — G.  S.  Htibbard. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  one  of  those  singular  men  whom  the  great  unknown 
power  brings  upon  the  scenes  of  men's  actions  when  momentous 
events  are  about  to  transpire. —  W.  B.  Franklin. 

His  earnest  desire  seemed  to  be  to  end  the  war  speedily  without 
more  bloodshed  or  devastation,  and  to  restore  all  the  men  of  both 
sections  to  their  homes. —  W.  7\  Sherman. 

The  dove  was  returning  from  the  redeemed  world  with  a  branch  of 
olive  when  the  hand  of  the  assassin  struck  down  the  emancipator  of 
the  race  of  slaves. —  Wm.  Wilder  force  Meivton. 


IQ2  TRIBUTES 

An  ardent  patriot,  shrewd,  with  large  common  sense,  far-reaching 
foresight,  firmness  and  tenacity  of  purpose,  and  possessing  the  largest 
sympathies. —  W.  Strong. 

His  memory  will  shine  in  ages  to  come  like  a  fixed  star  in  a  cloud- 
less night,  on  which  continents  may  gaze  with  admiration. — P.  B. 
Day. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  the  greatest  man  this  country  has  produced.  He 
was  mortal,  and  yearned,  above  all  things,  for  the  final  approval  of 
mankind. —  Wm.  D.  Kelley. 

He  had  a  sharp  insight  that  cut  through  all  the  rind  of  sophistries 
to  the  core  of  difficult  questions,  leaving  such  light  on  the  stroke  that 
other  minds  could  follow. — A.  L.  Stone. 

It  pleased  him  better  to  pardon  than  to  punish,  and  to  overcome  his 
and  the  country's  enemies  by  transforming  them  into  friends. — 

Samuel  J.  Nichols. 

s 

We  are  indebted  to  him  for  the  consistent  example  in  private  and 
public  life,  and  for  some  of  the  noblest  sentiments  of  humanity  ever 
spoken. — Elias  Nason. 

There  is  not  a  man  on  the  continent  or  globe  that  will  or  can  say 
that  Abraham  Lincoln  is  his  enemy,  or  that  he  deserved  punishment 
or  death  for  his  individual  acts. — IV.  P.  Banks. 

No  man  could  talk  to  him  upon  public  questions  without  being 
struck  with  the  singular  lucidity  of  his  mind  and  the  rapidity  with 
which  he  fastened  on  the  essential  point. —  Titian  J.  Coffen. 

His  genius,  wisdom,  and  goodness  saved  the  Union.  His  great 
heart  liberated  the  slaves.— .4.  A.  E.  Taylor. 

He  was  a  man  of  strong  attachments,  and  his  nature  overflowed 
with  the  milk  of  human  kindness. — Alexander  H.  Stephens. 

The  longing  for  unity  and  the  return  of  brethren  to  a  common 
center  and  home,  had  full  possession  of  him. —  Wm.  F.  Morgan. 


TRIBUTES  193 

There  is  little  fear  of  our  forgetting — there  is  little   fear  of  the 
world's  forgetting  the  name  of  Abraham  Lincoln. — -John  McClintock, 

His  "  firmness  in  the  right,  as  God  gave  him  to  see,"  was  to  him 
faith,  courage,  patience,  and  boundless  endurance. — -Joshua  F.  Speed. 

Whatever  shall  keep  green  the  memory  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  let 
that  be  done. — Clinton  B.  Fisk. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  a  pure  and  honest  man,  and  possessor  of 
very  superior  abilities. — Charles  Lanman. 

Along  with  a  gentle,  tender,  yearning  sympathy,  he  had  the  firm- 
ness of  a  rock  and  the  courage  of  a  lion. — Emerson  Bennett. 

Few  men  in  the  world's  history  have  been  privileged  to  do  a  work 
involving  so  much  benefit  to  mankind. — Newman  Hall. 

He  was  as  true  to  the  right  as  the  needle  to  the  pole,  in  all  storms 
and  on  every  sea. — E.  B.  Webb. 

That  death  ennobles  Lincoln.     The  South  gained  nothing  by  this 
crime.     Long  live  liberty  !     Long  live  the  Republic  ! —  Victor  Hugo. 

His  name  will  brighten  as  it  rises  out  of  the  conflicts  of  the  war 
into  the  serene  sky  of  history. — -J.  M.  Manning. 

The  harvest  of  moral  fruitage  from  his  death  will  be  the  garnered 
legacy  of  the  nation  through  the  ages  to  come. —  William  Hague. 

Coming  ages  can  properly  estimate  the  value  of  his  services  to  this 
country  and  to  human  freedom  in  all  lands.— -James  Marvin. 

His  life  was  one  of  true  patriotism,  and  his  character  one  of  hon- 
esty and  of  the  highest  type  of  religious  sentiment. — Alex.  Ramsey. 

The  ripest  and  fairest  fruit  that  has  fallen  from  our  American  tree 
of  civilization  is  Abraham  Lincoln. — K .  B.  Anderson. 

I  regard  him  as  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  our  time.     His  fame  is 
growing  every  day. —  Thos.  Burk. 


IQ4  TRIBUTES 

His  life,  even  at  the  moment  it  was  taken  away,  was  the  most  im- 
portant and  precious  life  in  our  whole  land. — Robert  C.   Winthrop. 

He  had  a  heart  open  to  all  innocent  pleasure  and  purged  from  the 
leaven  of  malice  and  uncharitableness. — James  E.  Murdoch. 

He  repelled  no  one  ;  he  strove  to  make  friends,  not  for  himself  so 
much  as  for  the  preservation  of  the  government. — -J.  P.  Usher. 

The  purity  of  his  reputation  ennobles  every  incident  of  his  career, 
and  gives  significance  to  all  the  events  of  the  past. —  W.  D.  Howells. 

In  my  conversations  with  him,  I  absorbed  the  firm  conviction  that 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  at  heart  a  Christian. — Noah  Porter. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  one  of  those  few  men  at  the  sight  of  whom 
we  trust  and  take  courage. — -John  Bascom. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  genuine  product  of  our  democratic  institutions 
and  had  a  living  faith  in  their  permanency. — Henry  Wilson. 

Look  down  as  deep  as  you  may  into  his  profound  nature,  you  will 
see  that  it  is  clear  as  a  moteless  fountain. — Gilbert  Haven. 

He  was  simple  in  life,  clear  in  his  views  of  right  and  duty,  firm  in 
his  will  long  before  the  flag  of  war  was  unfurled. — David  Swing. 

He  combined  the  integrity  of  Washington  with  the  humanity  of 
Wilberforce. —  George  W.Julian. 

He  brought  to  the  duties  of  the  presidential  office  the  best  quali- 
ties of  manhood. — R.  B.  Ayers. 

Abraham  Lincoln's  greatness  and  worth  lay  in  his  simple  manhood, 
he  was  a  whole  man,  human  to  the  core  of  his  heart. — Robert  Collier. 

Lincoln  was  the  ideal  President,  when  the  nation  most  wanted  the 
right  man  in  the  right  place. — Henry  W.  Bellows. 

Abraham   Lincoln  was  the   kind  of  a  man  Carlyle  in  his   better 
days  taught  us  to  worship  as  a  hero. — -John  Stuart  Mill. 


TRIBUTES  195 

The  great  President  affords  much  that  tends  to  advance  all  that  is 
good  and  noble  among  men.— -John  Bright. 

His  love  of  honesty  and  fair  dealings  was  one  of  his  prominent 
characteristics  ;  he  never  stooped  to  trickery. — Geo.  W.  Minier. 

No  hand  was  ever  stretched  toward  liberty  that  was  not  grasped 
and  championed  and  saved  by  Abraham  Lincoln. — F.  W.  Gunsaulns. 

There  is  in  the  crown  of  England  no  diamond  whose  luster  will 
not  pale  before  the  name  of  Abraham  Lincoln. — Robert  Ingersoll. 

President  Lincoln  excelled  all  his  contemporaries  in  capacity  for 
delay  when  action  was  fraught  with  peril,  in  the  power  of  immediate 
and  resolute  decision  when  delays  were  dangerous. — George  S.  Bout- 
well. 

The  pages  of  the  history  of  his  times  record  the  proofs  of  his 
courage  and  wisdom,  and  of  his  fidelity  to  his  country  and  to  human 
liberty. — M.  C.  Meigs. 

He  was  just  the  man  to  strike  with  favor  every  person  who  knew 
toil  and  privation,  for  he  experienced  the  severest  privations  from 
earliest  boyhood  to  mature  manhood. — Leonard  W.  Volk. 

He  was  tested  in  every  way  through  the  great  struggle,  and  his 
rare  virtues  will  endear  him  to  the  American  people  the  more  they 
study  his  life.—  S.  Wells  Williams. 

He  was  a  patriot  and  a  wise  man.  His  death  was  a  calamity  for 
the  country,  but  it  left  his  fame  without  a  fault  or  criticism. — Chas. 
A.  Dana. 

Courts  and  kingdoms  might  be  searched  in  vain  for  a  prince  who, 
by  tradition  and  culture,  had  attained  such  wisdom  in  the  government 
of  men  as  had  the  son  of  the  backwoods. — Frederick  Smyth. 

Just  finishing  his  great  work,  just  about  to  reap  the  harvest  of  all 
his  toil,  just  showing  how  moderate  and  wise  and  tender  he  was 
going  to  be,  he  was  cut  down  by  an  assassin. — Chas.  P.  Mcllvaine. 


196  TRIBUTES 

The  unwavering  faith  in  a  divine  Providence  began  at  his  mother's 
knee,  and  ran  like  a  thread  of  gold  through  all  the  inner  experiences 
of  his  life.—/.  G.  Holland. 

The  greatness  of  his  figure  in  our  history  stands  so  near  and  towers 
so  high  that  it  cannot  be  taken  in  at  a  glance  in  this  generation. — 
Joseph  P.  Bradley. 

His  thoughts  were  his  own  ;  they  were  fresh  and  original,  and  were 
clothed  with  a  quaintness,  a  distinctness,  a  simplicity  of  style  pecu- 
liar to  himself. — Charles  Henry  Hart. 

No  one  who  knew  him  ever  knew  another  man  like  him.  He 
stands  out  from  the  whole  world  of  his  time,  isolated  and  alone. — 
Leonard  Swett. 

If  he  had  not  the  refinement  of  education,  nor  the  artificial  polish 
of  society,  yet  he  never  repelled  a  child,  nor  crimsoned  the  cheek  of 
a  woman,  nor  wounded  the  self-respect  of  man. — Charles  B. 
Sedgwick. 

He  knew  how  to  put  a  great  thought  or  argument  in  a  few  plain 
and  simple  words.  Many  of  his  sayings  are  like  proverbs,  and 
proverbs,  we  know,  are  the  practical  wisdom  of  men  condensed  in  a 
few  brief  sentences. — Peter  Russell. 

Sprung  from  no  royal  line,  without  one  drop  of  regal  blood,  un- 
versed entirely  in  the  sophistries,  the  intrigues,  the  hollow,  heartless 
etiquette  of  courts.  Uncouth,  some  said  he  was,  but  better  be 
uncouth  and  honest  than  polished  and  a  knave. —  William  T.  Sabine. 

He  was  with  us  during  all  the  war ;  the  thought  of  him,  his 
sagacity,  his  fidelity,  his  buoyant  hope,  has  cheered  us  in  seasons  of 
despondency.  We  felt  secure  while  he  was  at  the  helm,  and  were 
confident  so  long  as  he  was  not  afraid. — R.  H.  Neale. 

Humble  in  his  estimate  of  his  own  abilities,  yet  confident  of  the 
sincerity  and  integrity  of  his  aims  and  principles,  he  was  ready  to 
receive  suggestions  and  advice  from  every  source,  and  was  accessible 
to  the  humblest  man  or  woman  in  the  land. — H.  Dunning. 


TRIBUTES  197 

Loving  his  country  with  his  whole  heart,  and  yet  room  enough  in 
that  heart  for  kindness  to  the  humblest  fellow-creature,  and  compas- 
sion for  every  sufferer  ;  but  with  no  room  for  one  vindictive  feeling 
toward  his  own  or  even  his  country's  foes. — George  Putman. 

I  have  not  the  ability  to  portray  the  character  or  recount  the  life  of 
Abraham  Lincoln.  This  will  be  done,  and  when  it  is  done,  the 
world  will  assign  to  Abraham  Lincoln  no  inferior  place  among  the 
greatest  and  the  best  of  men. —  W.  H.  Hornblower. 

His  large,  generous,  honest  heart  ever  beat  responsive  to  the  inter- 
ests of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  and  indicated  the  deepest  con- 
cern in  their  welfare.  Their  good  was  his  aim  and  heart's  desire  ; 
and  their  happiness  his  happiness. — D.  T.  Carnahan. 

President  Lincoln  took  up  into  his  long  arms,  his  capacious  mind, 
his  great  heart,  all  the  jarring  elements  of  factions,  all  the  differences 
of  his  friends,  all  the  necessities  of  his  enemies.  He  was  patient 
with  all,  forgiving  to  a  fault  as  a  child. — Hiram  P.  Crozier. 

He  knew  his  opportunity.  He  did  not  take  a  step  till  it  was  time 
to  take  it — did  not  take  it  to  retrace  it.  He  took  no  backward  steps, 
but  from  the  first  moved  steadily  forward  toward  the  great  end,  all 
the  while  gaining  ground  and  never  losing  it. — Isaac  E.  Carey. 

To  integrity  of  purpose,  firmness  of  will,  patience  in  investigation, 
unswerving  fidelity  to  trust,  and  a  deep  impression  of  his  accounta- 
bility to  the  nation  and  to  God,  he  added  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  theory  and  principles  of  our  government,  and  of  men. — D.  Dyer. 

His  illustrations,  not  unfrequently  derived  from  the  most  humble 
and  familiar  source,  were  selected,  not  to  adorn,  but  to  give  point  to 
his  speech,  and  because  of  their  fitness  to  make  his  meaning  clear  to 
the  great  mass  of  men. — -James  Cooper. 

His  writings  themselves  are  so  full,  so  clear,  so  rich,  so  earnest, 
so  reliant  upon  the  nation  and  upon  God,  that  now  that  the  strife  is 
over,  we  cannot  read  them  without  a  thrill  of  enthusiasm. — Charles 
Carroll  Everett. 


198  TRIBUTES 

Our  leader  saw  the  promised  land,  but  was  never  to  enter  it.  The 
sea,  desert,  the  strifes  and  seditions,  were  past,  and  the  land  of 
plenty  was  before  the  people.  But  on  Pisgah  he  died. — Alonzo  H. 
Quint. 


The  door  to  honorable  promotion  and  unlimited  success  in  every 
walk  of  life  is  left  wide  open  to  merit,  as  well  in  the  lower  class  as  in 
the  higher  classes  ;  and  the  worthy  poor  have  oftener  gained  honora- 
ble distinction  in  our  country  than  the  rich. —  Thomas  Sivaim. 

He  has  a  monument  more  durable  than  brass  in  the  hearts  of  the 
American  people.  He  needs  no  marble,  no  emblazoned  escutcheon. 
He  lives  forever  in  history,  and  is  henceforth  enrolled  in  the  records 
of  mankind  among  the  great  martyrs  of  liberty. — Dr.  Lord. 

Some  men  of  courtly  manners  and  courtly  expressions  criticised  his 
homely  ways  and  style  of  language ;  but  the  people  loved  him, 
trusted  him,  and  his  clear,  strong,  sound  utterances  carried  conviction. 
—Gordon  Hall. 


The  bullet-shot  that  evening  delivered  has  effectually  nailed  to  the 
Hiast  of  the  Ship  of  State  the  banner  of  emancipation,  of  universal, 
unconditional,  uncompensated,  and  unrepeatable  enfranchisement. — 
Wm.  R.  Williams. 


He  felt  himself  swept  out  into  the  current  of  a  purpose,  as  majes- 
tic in  grandeur  as  it  was  celestial  in  origin  ;  the  sublime  purpose  of 
Him  to  whom  nations  belong,  to  care  for  this  Western  Republic  in 
the  hour  of  its  manifest  peril. — Charles  S.  Robinson. 

He  was  happy,  too,  in  the  time  of  his  death.  It  was  the  sunrise 
of  peace  upon  the  land  ;  a  momentary  pang,  he  knew  not  whence  or 
what  it  was,  and  he  was  happy  in  death. —  Wm.  Ives  Buddington. 

Lincoln  was  a  man  both  of  words  and  deeds  ;  his  latter  words  are 
so  interwoven  with  and  constitute  part  of  his  deeds  that  both  will 
survive — the  latter,  the  root  and  stalk  ;  the  former,  the  flower,  of  his 
fame. — Henry  C.  Whitney. 


TRIBUTES  199 

Abraham  Lincoln,  in  my  view,  was  charged  with  a  divine  mission, 
which  he  executed  wisely  and  well,  and  is  justly  entitled  to  the  rever- 
ence, gratitude,  and  love  of  all  loyal  citizens  of  our  great  republic. — 
Neal  Dow. 


He  arrived  at  conclusions  not  by  intuition,  but  by  argument.  This 
made  him  appear  slow  in  difficult  questions,  but  it  gave  him  all  the 
certainty  of  logic  and  the  abiding  convictions  of  duty.  Once  at  a 
decision,  he  could  not  be  moved  from  it. — C.  H.  Fowler. 

There  were  men  of  might  about  his  council  board,  scholars  and 
statesmen,  but  none  arose  to  his  altitude,  much  less  was  either  his 
master.  His  eye  swept  a  wide  horizon  and  descried  clearly  all  within 
its  circumference. —  7\  M.  Eddy. 

His  great  business  was  a  single  one,  and  that  was  to  rebind  the 
Union.  There  was  but  one  method  of  doing  it,  and  that  was  to 
unbind  the  slave.  He  did  the  latter,  and  thus  accomplished  the 
former. — Cornelius  H.  Edgar. 

The  tree  of  liberty  is  firmly  planted  upon  our  soil.  Its  roots  strike 
into  half  a  million  of  freedmen's  graves  ;  its  center-root  strikes  to  the 
bottom  of  Lincoln's  grave.  It  is  well  watered  by  the  blood  of 
America's  best. — S.  Reed. 

As  the  lapse  of  time  shall  smooth  the  asperities  of  a  civil  war,  and 
shall  throw  its  mellowing  influences  over  the  stories  of  his  early  life, 
his  public  services  as  President  will  stand  without  a  rival  or  a  peer  in 
the  day  to  which  he  belonged. — Samuel  F.  Miller. 

His  most  striking  characteristic  was  great  common  sense.  That 
was  the  sheet  anchor  of  his  practical  character.  He  always  seemed 
to  know  when  to  speak  and  when  to  act,  as  well  as  when  not  to 
speak  and  not  to  act. — J.  P.  Dailey. 

The  President's  last  smiles  were  in  thinking  that  the  sad  conscripts 
might  be  released,  and  the  weary  soldier  soon  discharged,  and  the 
wounded  patriot  soon  on  his  own  couch  at  home,  telling  his  neighbors 
how  he  bravely  fought  his  country's  battles. —  Wm.  M.  Blackburn. 


200  TRIBUTES. 

When,  in  the  very  flush  and  glory  of  the  triumphant  progress  of 
his  armies,  he  showed  a  noble  magnanimity  of  soul  toward  the  van- 
quished, which  stands  as  solitary  among  the  history  of  rebellions,  as 
our  Republic  does  among  the  family  of  nations. — -J.  F.  Garrison. 

At  City  Point  he  moved  down  the  long  line  of  prostrate  men — 
visiting  each  cot,  taking  the  sick  soldier  by  the  hand,  laying  his  hand 
on  the  pale  brow,  speaking  a  kind  word  to  this  one  and  that — till  he 
had  shed  sunshine 'in  every  invalid's  heart. — Robert  Lowry. 

When  Victory  hung  out  her  glorious  banner,  he  extended  kindness, 
sympathy,  forgiveness,  for  the  suffering.  Not  one  word  of  reproach, 
not  a  single  taunt,  not  a  whisper  of  revenge,  not  a  desire  for  one 
degree  of  unnecessary  sorrow. — Mason  Noble. 

He  lived  long  enough  to  vindicate  his  policy  in  the  conduct  of  the 
war,  and  to  see  the  triumph  of  constitutional  power — but  not  long 
enough  to  make  a  single  mistake  in  the  new  field  of  duty,  which  was 
just  opening  before  him. — H.  E.  Niles. 

As  we  review  his  words  and  various  state  papers  which  came  from 
his  hand,  they  are  stamped  with  a  maturity  of  judgment  which  the 
annals  of  the  future  will  inscribe.  Few  have  equaled,  and  none 
excelled.— C.  C.  Wallace. 

He  was  a  frequent  visitor  in  our  camp,  and  we  were  enabled  to 
observe  his  character  in  its  most  familiar  aspects.  He  walked  about 
among  the  soldiers  in  the  freest  manner,  and  with  a  kind  word  for 
everyone  whom  he  met. — Augustus  Woodburn. 

Just  as  the  blood  and  wounds  of  contending  armies  were  drying  up 
and  healing  on  those  silent  and  deserted  battlefields,  the  chair  of 
state  sinks  into  the  bier  of  death,  on  which  lies  that  which  was  once 
the  warm  and  useful  life  of  Abraham  Lincoln. — David  C.  Coddington. 

We  have  had  men  who  could  take  a  higher  intellectual  grasp  of 
any  abstruse  problem  of  statesmanship,  but  few  have  ever  equaled, 
and  none  excelled,  Lincoln  in  the  practical,  common-sense,  and  suc- 
cessful solution  of  the  gravest  problems  ever  presented  in  American 


TRIBUTES.  2OI 

history.  He  possessed  a  peculiarly  receptive  and  analytical  mind. 
He  sought  information  from  every  attainable  source.  He  sought  it 
persistently,  weighed  it  earnestly,  and  in  the  end  reached  his  own 
conclusions.  When  he  had  once  reached  a  conclusion  as  to  a  public 
duty,  there  was  no  human  power  equal  to  the  task  of  changing  his 
purpose. — A.  K.  McClure. 

His  life  has  been  of  great  good  to  this  nation,  because  he  "  desired 
to  be  on  the  Lord's  side,"  gave  his  voice  for  the  freedom  of  the 
oppressed,  and  his  life  for  the  union  of  the  States. — John  G.  Fee. 

He  will  go  down  the  dim  aisles  of  the  future  with  the  torches  of 
rejoicing  flaming  all  around  him,  carried  by  four  millions  of  a 
despised  race,  from  whose  limbs  he  struck  the  chains  ! — -J.  Hazard 
HartzelL 


INDEX. 


JOURNEY  TO  WASHINGTON,  SPEECHES,  REMARKS,  ETC. 

A  Heart  True  to  the  Work,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  February  16, 
1861, 58 

Add  Star  upon  Star,  Raising  a  New  Flag  over  Indepen- 
dence Hall,  February  22,  1861,  .....  64 

Arrival  in  Washington,  Response  to  an  Address  of  Wel- 
come from  the  Mayor,  February  27,  1861,  .  .  66 

Behind  the  Cloud  the  Sun  is  Still  Shining,  Tolono,  111., 
February  n,  1861,  .......  52 

Flag  May  Still  Be  Kept  Flaunting  Gloriously,  The,  State 
Legislature,  Harrisburg,  February  22,  1861,  .  .  65 

Humblest  of  All  the  Presidents,  State  Legislature,  Albany, 
N.  Y.,  February  18,  1861, 59 

I  Shall  very  soon  Pass  away  from  You,  Columbus,  O., 
February  13,  1861,  .......  55 

Liberty  for  All  Future  Time,  Independence  Hall,  Phila- 
delphia, February  22,  1861,  .  .  .  .  .  .  63 

Majority  of  the  American  People  Must  Rule,  Steubenville, 
O.,  February  14,  1861,  ......  56 

No  One  More  Devoted  to  Peace,  Assembly  Chamber, 
Trenton,  N.  J.,  February  21,  1861,  ....  62 

Ohio  Legislature,  Address  to,  Columbus,  February  13, 
1861, 55 

Preserve  the  Union  and  Liberty,  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  Feb- 
ruary II,  1861,  ........  53 

People's  Power  Eternal,  Lawrenceburg,  Ind.,  February  12, 
1861, 53 

Response  to  an  Address  of  Welcome,  Cincinnati,  February 
12,  1861,  .........  54 

Response  to  an  Address  of  Welcome,  Cleveland,  O., 
February  15,  1861, 58 

Stand  by  the  Union,  Response  to  an  Address  of  Welcome, 
New  York,  February  20,  1861,  .....  60 

,03 


204  INDEX. 

PAGE 

Struggle  for  Liberty,  Address  in  the  Senate  Chamber, 

Trenton,  N.  J.,  February  21,  1861,  ....  61 

Tariff,  A  Just  and  Equitable,  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  February  15, 

1861, 57 

Will  Carry  the  Ship  of  State  through  the  Storm,  With 

Help,  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  February  19,  1861,  .  60 

DISPATCHES,  LETTERS,  ETC.,  TO  ARMY  GENERALS. 

Buell,  General  Don  Carlos,  January  6,  1862,      ...  78 
Burnside,    General   Ambrose   E.,    Referring    to    General 

Grant,  July  27,  1863,           .         .         .         .         .         .  113 

Curtis,  General  Samuel  R.,  January  2,  1863,     ..    .   .-        .  97 

Grant,  General  Ulysses  S.,  Letter  to,  October  8,  1862,  87 
Grant,  General  Ulysses  S.,  Acknowledgment  to,  July  13, 

1863, no 

Grant,    General    Ulysses    S.,    Commissioned    Lieutenant 

General,  March  9,  1864,         .         .         » •  '     .         .         .  125 

Grant,  General  Ulysses  S.,  Reply  of,                    '   .         .  126 

Grant,  General  Ulysses  S.,  Letter  to,  April  30,  1864,         .  132 

Grant,  General  Ulysses  S.,  Dispatch  to,  June  15,  1864,  140 

Grant,  General  Ulysses  S.,  Dispatch  to,  August  17,  1864,  145 

Hunter,  General  David,  October  24,  1861,     .         .         .  76 

Halleck,  General  Henry  W.,  October  16,  1863,         .         .  121 

Hooker,  General  Joseph,  1863,       .....  99 

Hooker,  General  Joseph,  May  7,  1863,       ....  103 

McClellan,  General  George  B.,  April  9,  1862,         .         .  78 
Rosecrans,  General  W.  S.,  October  4,  1863,      .         .         .118 

Scott,  General  Winfield,  September  16,  1861,         .        V  75 

Schofield,  General  John  M.,  May  24,  1863,        .         .         .  104 

Schofield,  General  John  M.,  June  22,  1863,    .                  .  105 

Sickles,  General  D.  E.,  1863, 123 

Sheridan,  General  P.  H.,  October  22,  1864,           .         .  153 

Sherman,  General  W.  T.,  December  26,  1864,            .         .  165 

Thomas,  General  Lorenzo,  July  8,  1863,         .         .         .  109 

Wadsworth,  General  James  S.,  1864,          ....  130 

MESSAGES  TO  CONGRESS. 

Army  and  Navy,  Continued  Dependence  upon,  December 

8,  1863, 124 

Army  and  Navy,  Providing  Pay  for,  January  19,  1863,       .  98 


INDEX.  205 

PAGE 

Another  and  Not  I    Must    Be   their   Instrument,  Fourth 

Annual  Message,  December  6,  1864,      ....  161 

Inaugural  Address,  First,  March  4,  1861,       ...  68 

Labor  the  Superior  of  Capital,  December  3,  1861,     .         .  76 

No  Moral  Right  to  Shrink,  July  4,  1861,        ...  75 

Slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  April  16,  1862,  .         .  79 

Way  is  Plain,  The,  December  I,  1862,   ....  89 
With  Malice  toward  None,  with  Charity  for  All,  Second 

Inaugural  Address,  March  4,  1865,         ....  168 

POLITICAL  SPEECHES,  LETTERS,  ETC. 

Abraham  Lincoln,  I  Am  Humble,  First  Political  Speech, 
Pottsville,  111.,  1832, I 

A  House  Divided  against  Itself  Cannot  Stand,  Speech  at 
Republican  State  Convention,  Springfield,  111.,  June  17, 
1858,  .  .  . 21 

Remarks  in  Defense  of  the  Above  Speech  : 

This  Nation  Cannot  Live  on  Injustice,  Springfield,  June 

17,  1858, 27 

Would  Leave  It  to  the  World  Unerased,  Reply  to  Dr. 
Long,      .........  28 

Wisest  Thing  I  Ever  Did,  To  a  Party  of  Friends,  .       28 

Candidate  for  the  Illinois  Legislature,  Letter  to  the 
Journal,  Springfield,  111.,  June  13,  1836,  ...  3 

Disadvantages  the  Republicans  Labor  Under,  Speech  at 
Springfield,  111.,  July  17,  1858,  .'  .  .  .  .26 

Education  the  Most  Important  Subject  to  the  People, 
Address,  New  Salem,  111.,  March  9,  1832,  .  .  I 

Eternal  Fidelity  to  the  Just  Cause,  Speech  Made  in  the 
Harrison  Campaign,  1840,  ......  7 

Electric  Cord  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  The, 
Reply  to  Douglas,  Chicago,  111.,  July  10,  1858,  .  23 

Lincoln  and  Douglas  Joint  Debate  : 

Ottawa,  111.,  August  21,  1858, 29 

Freeport,  111.,  August  27,  1858,            .         .         .         .  30 

Jonesboro,  111.,  September  15,  1858,       ....       31 
Charleston,  111.,  September  18,  1858,           ...  32 

Galesburg,  111.,  October  7,  1858,             ....       33 
Quincy,  111.,  October  13,  1858,            ....  33 

Alton,  111.,  October  15,  1858,     • 34 


206  INDEX. 


RELIGIOUS  BODIES,  REPLIES  TO. 

Christian  Commission,  Reply  to  an  Invitation   from   the, 

February  22,  1863, 

Clergymen,  Reply  to  a  Company  of,  1864, 

Duryea,  Rev.  J.  T.,  Firm  Belief  in  Providence,  1864,    . 

East  Baltimore  Methodist  Conference,  1862, 

Illinois  Clergyman,  Reply  to  an,  1864, 

Lutheran  General  Synod,  Committee  from,  May,  1862, 

Lutheran  General  Synod,  Committee  from,  August,  1864, 

Methodist  Conference,  Reply  to  a  Committee  from    the, 

May,  1864, 134 

Presbyterians,  General  Assembly  of,  Reply  to  a  Committee 
of  Sixty-five,  May,  1863,         ......     103 

Religious  Denominations  of  Chicago,  Reply  to  a  Deputa- 
tion from  All,  September  13,  1862,     ....  83 

Sunderland,  Rev.  Byron,  and  Friends,  Remarks  to,  1862,       94 

SLAVERY  AND  FREEDOM,  SPEECHES,  ETC. 

All    Men   are    Created    Equal,    Speech    at    Chicago,    111., 

December  10,  1856,   .......  19 

Dred  Scott  Decision,  Speech  on  the,  Springfield,  111.,  June 

26,  1857, 20 

Faith  that  Right  makes  Might,  Speech  at  Cooper  Institute, 

New  York,  February  27,  1860, 42 

Hopeless   Peaceful    Emancipation    of    the    Slave,    Letter, 

1855, 18 

Injustice  of  Slavery,  The,  Speech  at  Peoria,  111.,  October 

16,  1854, 14 

Natural   Right  of  the  Negro,   Speech  at  Columbus,  O., 

September,  1859,  .......       36 

One   Retrograde   Institution   in   America,   The,   Reply  to 

Douglas,  Springfield,  111.,  October  4,  1854,         .         .  17 

Protest  in  the  Illinois  Legislature,  1837,     ....         4 
Redemption  of    the  African   Race,   Springfield,  111.,  July 

16,  1852, 13 

Those   Who   Deny   Freedom   to   Others,   etc.,   Letter  to 

Republicans  of  Boston,  April,  1859,       ....       36 

SLAVES,  EMANCIPATION  OF,  SPEECHES,  ETC. 

Emancipation,    Gradual,    Conference    with    Congressmen 
from  Border  Slave  States,  July  12,  1862,         ...       79 


INDEX.  207 


Emancipation  Proclamation,  Reading  the,  to  his  Cabinet, 

September  22,  1862,  .......  84 

Emancipation   Proclamation,  Preliminary,   Issued   Septem- 

ber 22,  1862,  ........       86 

Emancipation  Proclamation,  Issue  of,  January  I,  1863,  95 

Emancipation  Proclamation,  Congratulating  the  President 

on  Issuing  the,  .         .         .         .         .         .         .115 

Emancipation  Proclamation,  Sketch  of  its  History,         .         100 
Emancipation  Proclamation,  Congratulating  the  President 

on  Issuing  the,    .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .115 

Emancipation,   Gradual,   in    Missouri,    Reply   to    General 

Schofield,  June  22,  1863,    .  ....         105 

His  Vow  before  God,  Remarks  to  Secretary  Chase,  .  .  98 
Not  One  Word  of  It  Will  I  ever  Recall,  Remarks  to  some 

Friends,  New  Year's  Evening,  1863,  ...  97 

MISCELLANEOUS,  SPEECHES,  LETTERS,  ETC. 

Abraham  Lincoln,  Autobiography  of,  December,  1859,  .  39 
Abraham  Lincoln,  Last  Public  Address  of,  April  n,  1865,  178 
Abraham  Lincoln,  Last  Letters  Written,  One  of  the,  April 

14,  1865,    .......  ...         179 

Abraham  Lincoln,  Last  Written  Words  of  ,  April  14,  1865,  181 
Abraham  Lincoln,  Last  Verbal  Message,  April  14,  1865,  179 
American  Citizens  are  Brothers,  All,  Springfield,  111., 

November  20,  1860,       .         .         .         .         .         .         .49 

Already  too  many  Weeping  Widows,  Reply  to  an  Army 

General,     .........         128 

Advice  to  an  Officer  who  had  been  Court-martialed,  .  .134 
A  Presentiment,  Remarks  to  Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe, 

1864  .....         •         •         .  '      .         .         136 
Anything  to  Strengthen  and  Sustain  General  Grant,  June,     • 

1864,     .  ........      138 

All  Animated  by  the  same  Determination,  December  22, 

1864,  .........          163 

Anxious  to  Aid  the  Good  Cause,  December,  1864,  .  .164 
Campaign  Clubs  before  the  White  House,  Speech  to, 

November  10,  1864,   .         .         .         .         .         .         .         156 

Care   and    Anxiety   of   the    President,    Remarks  made  in 

December,  1864,    .         .......     165 

Captured  Flag,  Presentation  of  a,  Remarks  at  the  Gather 

ing,  March  17,  1865,  ......         172 


208  INDEX. 

PAGE 

Colored  Soldier,  Praise  for  the,  1864,          .         .         .         .130 

Consecrated  Himself  to  Christ,  Reply  to  an  Illinois  Clergy- 
man, 1864,          ........         154 

Defends  the  Secretary  of  War,  August  6,  1862,  .         .       82 

Dispensing  Patronage,  Letter  to  the  Postmaster  General, 
July  27,  1863 112 

"  Dixie,"  our  Lawful  Prize,  Speech  to  a  Gathering  before 
the  White  House,  April  10,  1865,  .         .         .         .     177 

"  Early  History,"  Mr.  Lincoln's,  Reply  to  One  who  Asked 
for  a  Sketch  of  his  Life, 51 

Father,  Message  to  his  Dying,  Letter  to  his  Brother-in- 
law,  1851,      .........       12 

Farewell  Address  to  his  Neighbors,  just  before  Leaving  for 
Washington,  February  n,  1861,          .         .         .         .  51 

Fernando  Wood,    Hon.,  of    New  York,  Letter  to,  Decem- 
ber 12,  1862, 92 

Gratitude  to  God,  Proclamation,  July  4,  1863,         .         .          107 

Gettysburg,  Battlefield  of ,  Address  on,  November  19,  1863,     121 

Gettysburg,  Acknowledgment  of  Flowers  from  the  Battle- 
field of,  January  24,  1865,  .....          167 

Gettysburg,  Asked  God  for  Victory  at,  1863,      .         .         .      123 

God  Alone  Can  Claim  It,  Letter  to  A.  G.  Hodges,  April  4, 
1864, 128 

Going  Through   on   this   Line  if    It   Takes  Three  Years 
More,  Speech  at  a  Philadelphia  Fair,  June  18,  1864,  141 

Greatest  Credit  Due  the  Common   Soldier,  Speech   to  the 
iSgth  N.  Y.  Infantry,  October  24,  1864,         .         .         .154 

God   will  Control   the    Hearts   of   the    People,    Reply   to 
Friends,     .........          164 

%  Gratitude,    Letter    of,    To   a  Voter    104   Years    of  Age, 

November,  1864 158 

Grief-stricken  Mother,  Letter  to  a,  November  21,  1864,         159 

Hawaiian  Islands,  Interest  in,  Address  to  Minister  Allen, 
April  n,  1864, 129 

Illinois  Republican  State  Convention,  Declines  an  Invita- 
tion to  Attend,  August  26,  1863,    113 

Indebted  to  the  Christian  People,  Letter  to  Mrs.  Eliza  P. 
Gurney,  September  30,  1864,      .....          148 

Jefferson,  All  Honor  to,   Reply  to  an  Invitation,  April  6, 
1861, 74 


INDEX.  209 


Last  Visit  to  his  Law  Office  before  Leaving  for  Washing- 
ton, 1861, 51 

Letter  to  Thomas  H.  Clay  of  Cincinnati,  October  8, 
1862, 87 

Last  Letters  Written,  One  of  the,  April  14,  1865,      .         .     179 

Last  Verbal  Message,  April  14,  1865 179 

Modesty  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  Shown  in  a  Speech  at  the  State 
Fair,  Springfield,  111,  August  8,  1860,  ....  47 

Malice,  Will  Do  Nothing  in,  Letter,  July  28,  1862,         .  81 

Missouri,  Affairs  in,  Letter  to  Hon.  Charles  D.  Drake, 
October  5,  1863, 119 

Mother's  Prayers,  His,  Conversation  with  a  Friend,        .         121 

Maryland's  Proposed  New  Constitution,  Regarding,  Octo- 
ber 18,  1864, 151 

Maryland  Abolishes  Slavery,  Response  to  a  Serenading 
Party  in  Honor  of,  October  19,  1864,  .  .  .  152 

Nomination  for  the  Presidency,  Would  not  Buy  the,  1860,       45 

Nomination  for  the  Presidency,  First  News  of  his,  May  8, 
1860, 46 

Nomination  for  the  Presidency,  Formal  Announcement  of 
his,  May  19,  1860,  .......  46 

Nomination  for  the  Presidency,  Second,  1864,  .         .139 

Nomination  for  the  Presidency,  Acceptance  of  the,  June 
27,  1864, 142 

National  Thanksgiving,  A  Day  for,  Proclamation,  July  15, 
1863,  .  .  . no 

National  Union  League,  Response  to  Remarks  by  a  Dele- 
gation of  the,  June  9,  1864,  .....  139 

No  Cessation  of  Hostilities  Short  of  the  End  of  the  War, 
Instructions  to  William  H.  Seward,  January,  1865,  .  171 

Negroes  Kneel  at  the  President's  Feet,  Richmond,  April 
4,  1865 173 

Negroes  in  the  Streets  of  Richmond,  Remarks  to,  April  4, 
1865, 174 

Not  Scared  about  Himself  at  all,  Reply  to  Schuyler 
Colfax,  1865, 176 

Opponents,  Kindly  Feelings  for,  Speech  at  Cincinnati,  O., 
September,  1859,  .......  37 

Observance  of  the  Sabbath  in  the  Army  and  Navy,  General 
Orders,  November  15,  1862, 88 


210  INDEX. 


Opening  of  a  Fair,  Speech  at  an,  Baltimore,  Md.,  April  18, 

1864, 130 

Only  Mortal  after  all,  Remarks  to  a  Friend,       .         .         .     158 
Our   People  Can  Afford  to  be  Magnanimous,   Interview, 
December,  1864,         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         160 

Perpetuation  of  our  P'ree  Institutions,  Address  at  Spring- 
field, 111.,  January,  1837, 5 

Pledge  with  Cold  Water,  The,  May,  1860,     ...  47 

People  Will  Do  Well  if  Well  Done  by,  The,  Speech  at 

Bloomington,  111.,  November  21,  1860,  .         .         ..50 

Peculiar  Position  at  the  Capital,  His,  Address  to  the  Re- 
publican Association,  February  28,  1861,    ...  67 
Paramount  Object  to  Save  the  Union,  Reply  to  a  Com- 
plaining Editorial  by  Horace  Greeley,  August  19,  1862,         83 
Protest  from  Erastus  Corning  and  Others,   Reply  to  a, 

June  13,  1863, 105 

Pardon  for  a  Deserter,  Remarks  to  Schuyler  Coif  ax,  1863,     115 
Plea  for  the  Colored  People,  Letter  to  Governor-Elect  of 
Louisiana,  January  u,  1864,      .         .         .         .          .         124 

Pardon  for  a  Sleeping  Sentry,  Remarks  to  a  Friend,  .     127 

Plea  for  the  Life  of  a  Soldier,  Reply  to  a,      .         .         .         128 
Proclamation  of  Thanksgiving  and  Prayer,  May  9,  1864,         135 
Pardon,  Answer  to  an  Application  for,  1864,      .         .         .     146 
Peace  Negotiations,  Regarding,  To  Confederate  Commis- 
sioners, July  18,  1864,         ......          143 

Presentation  of  a  Bible  by  Colored  People,  October,  1864,  150 
Princeton  College  Confers  a  Degree  of  LL.  D.,  December 

27,  1864, 166 

Preserving  the  Peace  of  Maryland,  Message  to  Governor 

Hicks,  April  20,  1861, 74 

Refusal  to  Pardon  a  Man  for  Importing  Slaves,  1863,  .  116 
Restoring  the  Union  the  Sole  Purpose  of  the  War,  1864,  133 
Ratifying  the  Election,  Speech  at  a  Meeting  in  Front  of 

the  White  House,  November  20,  1864,  .         .         .159 

Remarks  to  his  Wife  on  the  Fatal  Day,  April  14,  1865,  181 

Settlement  with  an  Agent  of  the  Post  Office  Department, 

1859, 39 

Sees  the  Storm  Coming,  A  Quiet  Talk  at  Springfield,  111., 

During  the  Campaign  of  1860,  .....  49 

Story-telling  was  a  Relief,  Remarks  to  a  Congressman,  1864,  137 


INDEX.  211 

PACK 

Seeks  Relaxation   at   the  Theater,  Remarks  to  Schuyler 

Colfax,  1864, 145 

Stand  Fast  to  the  Union  and  the  P'lag,  Speech  to  the  1481!? 

Ohio  Infantry,  1864, 146 

Serenade  at  the  White  House,  Response  to  a,  July  7,  1863,  107 
Serenade  at  the  White  House,  Response  to  a,  May  13, 

1864, 136 

Serenade  on  the  Night  of  the  Election,  Response  to  a, 

November  9,  1864, 155 

Serenaders,  Reply  to  a  Party  of,  April  10,  1865,  .  .  176 
Soldiers  of  the  Nation,  Will  P'avor,  1864,  .  .  .166 

Second  Annual  Message,  Regarding  his,  Letter  to  Thur- 

low  Weed,  March  15,  1865,  .....  171 
Shakes  Hands  with  over  Six  Thousand  Soldiers,  April  8, 

1865, - 175 

Temperance  Cause,  Address  at  Springfield,  111.,  February 

22,  1842, 8 

Tariff,  Protective,  Letter  Regarding,  October  ir,  1859,  42 

Tenders  the  Thanks  of  the  Nation,  Address  to  the  Army 

of  the  Potomac,  December  22,  1862,  ....  93 
Thanksgiving  Day  Proclamation,  Issued  October  3,  1863,  Il6 
Times  are  Dark,  The,  Remarks  to  Rev.  Byron  Sunderland, 

December,  1862,          .......  94 

Visits  Grant's  Headquarters  at  City  Point,  .  .  .173 
Visits  Richmond  on  the  Day  of  the  Surrender  of  that  City, 

1865, 173 

We  Shall  Try  to  Do  Our  Duty,  Speech  at  Leaven  worth, 

Kans.,  1860, 45 

Will  Carry  Out  the  Work  Commenced,  Speech  to  the  i64th 

Ohio  Infantry,  September,  1864,  ....  147 
Willing  to  Act  though  it  Costs  his  Life,  Reply  to  a 

Friend,  August  6,  1862, 82 

Women  of  America,  God  Bless  the,  Speech  at  a  Ladies' 

Fair,  Washington,  March  16,  1864,  .  .  .  .  126 
Workingmen  of  Manchester,  England,  Reply  to  an  Address 

from  the,  January  19,  1863,  .....  99 

Would  Willingly  Exchange  Places  with  the  Soldier, 

Remarks  to  Schuyler  Colfax,  1864,     ....         137 


INDEX  TO  TRIBUTES. 


A  Choice  Selection  of  Eloquent  Sayings  Gathered  from  Distinguished 
People. 

PAGE 

Anderson,  Rasmus  B.,  Author,          ......  193 

Abbott,  Lyman,  Author  and  Divine,     .....  148 

Arthur,  Timothy  S. ,  Author,    .         .         .         .         .         .         .162 

Ayers,  Romeyn  B.,  Major  General,  U.  S.  A.,        .         .         .  194 

Atwood,  Edward  S.,  Clergyman,       .....  61 

Andrew,  John  A.,  ex-Governor  of  Massachusetts,           .         .  10 

Armitage,  Thomas,  Clergyman,        ......  190 

Adams,  William,  Clergyman,         ......  6 

Bascom,  John,  Educator,           .......  194 

Black,  John  C.,  Brevet  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  A.,     .         .  179 

Burk,  Thomas,  English  Politician,             .....  193 

Elaine,  James  Gillespie,  Statesman,       .....  188 

Bright,  John,  English  Statesman,     ......  195 

Boutvvell,  George  S.,  ex-Governor  of  Massachusetts,      .         .  195 

Bates,  Edward,  Lincoln's  Attorney  General,     ....  191 

Bellows,  Henry  W.,  Clergyman,         ....             .  194 

Bullock,  Alex.  H.,  ex-Governor  of  Massachusetts,              .         .  190 

Bradley,  Joseph  P.,  American  Jurist,    .....  196 

Buckingham,  William  A.,  ex-Governor  of  Connecticut,      .         .  87 

Bradley,  William  O.,  Lawyer,       ......  63 

Bateman,  Newton,  Educator,             ......  29 

Badger,  Henry  E.,  Clergyman,     ......  90 

Brooks,  Phillips,  Clergyman,              ......  85 

Barrows,  John  H.,  Clergyman,     .          .          .         .         ...  103 

Bennett,  Emerson,  Journalist,           ......  193 

Blanchard,  Rufus,  Author,    .         .         .         .         .         .         .  no 

Barnum,  Phineas  T.,  Showman,       ......  99 


214  INDEX  TO   TRIBUTES. 


PACK 


Bailey,  James  M.,  Journalist,  .         .         ...         .          .64 

Breece,  Sidney,  Lawyer,        .          .         .         .         .                   .  79 

Bacon,  Leonard,  Clergyman,              ......  69 

Banks,  Nathaniel  P.,  Major  General,  U.  S.  A.,     .         .         .  192 
Bryant,  William  Cullen,  Poet,           .          .         .-                 .         .151 

Benjamin,  Samuel  G.  W.,  Author,         .         .         .         .         .  127 

Bascom,  A.  B.,  Clergyman,       .          .         .         .         .         .  in 

Butler,  Henry  E.,  Clergyman,       ......  2 

Buckley,  Edwin  A.,  Clergyman,       ......  80 

Blackburn,  William  M.,  Clergyman,     .....  199 

Binney,  William,  Lawyer,         .         .         .         .         .         .         .132 

Bradford,  B.  F.,  Clergyman,         ......  70 

Bingham,  J.  C.,  Clergyman,              12 

Buddington,  William  Ives,  Clergyman,          ....  198 

Butler,  Clement  M.,  Clergyman,       ......  139 

Burdick,  C.  F.,  Clergyman,           .         .         .         .         .         .  115 

Baldridge,  S.  C.,  Clergyman,  .  .         .         .         .48 

Backman,  Charles,  Clergyman,               .         .         .         .         .  156 

Booth,  Robert  R.,  Clergyman, 141 

Burnam,  C.  P\,  Lawyer,        .......  191 

Burnside,  Ambrose  E.,  Major  General,  U.  S.  A.,     .         .         .  49 

Beveridge,  J.  L.,  ex-Governor  of  Illinois,      .         .         .         .  182 

Bancroft,  George,  Historian,             ......  184 

Beecher,  Henry  Ward,  Clergyman,       .....  183 

Briggs,  George  W.,  Clergyman, 184 

Butler,  Benjamin  F.,  Major  General,  U.  S.  A.,     .         .          .  189 

Crosby,  Howard,  Clergyman,        .          .         .         .          .         .  189 

Conkling,  Roscoe,  Statesman,  .         .         .         .         .         .189 

Collier,  Robert,  Clergyman,           ......  194 

Clark,  James  Freeman,  Clergyman,           .....  190 

Cooper,  Peter,  Philanthropist,       .         .          .         .                   .  189 

Coxe,  A.  Cleveland,  Episcopal  Bishop,     .....  191 

Cox,  Samuel  S.,  Author  and  Statesman,         ....  65 

Colfax,  Schuyler,  Vice  President,      ......  185 

Coffen,  Titian  J.,  Assistant  Attorney  General,       ...  192 
Cass,  Lewis,  Statesman,             .         .         .         .         .         .         .143 

Craig,  Wheelock,  Clergyman,        .         .         .         .         .         .  178 

Chase,  Thomas,  Educator,        .......  28 

Carnahan,  D.  T.,  Clergyman,        ......  197 


INDEX   TO   TRIBUTES.  21$ 

PAGE 

Crozier,  Hiram  P.,  Clergyman,     ......  197 

Carey,  Isaac  E.,  Clergyman, 197 

Cooper,  James,  Clergyman,            .         .         .         .         .         .  197 

Chester,  John,  Clergyman,        .......  181 

Chancy,  George  L.,  Clergyman,             .         .         .         .         .  134 

Cudworth,  Warren  H.,  Clergyman,  .         .         .         .         .186 

Cuyler,  Theo.  L.,  Clergyman, 107 

Carpenter,  Francis  B.,  Author,          .         .         .         .         .         .  159 

Cary,  Phrebe,  Poet, 161 

Gary,  Alice,  Poet,     .........  77 

Cameron,  Mrs.  R.  A.,  Poet,          ......  95 

Chadwick,  John  W.,  Clergyman,      .          .         .         .         .         .120 

Carruthers,  J.  J.,  Clergyman,        ......  149 

Coddington,  David  C.,     .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  200 


Davis,  David,  Jurist,              .         .         .         .         .         .         .  176 

Day,  P.  B.,  Clergyman,             .......  192 

Dening,  Henry  Champion,  Lawyer,      .....  189 

Dana,  Charles  A.,  Journalist,            ......  195 

Depew,  Chauncey  M.,  Lawyer,     .         .         .         .         .         .  133 

Dow,  Neal,  Temperance  Reformer,           .         .         .         .  .  199 

Drake,  Samuel  Adams,  Author,    .         .         .         .         .         .  189 

Douglass,  Frederick,  Orator,    .......  191 

Dix,  Morgan,  Clergyman,     .         .         .         .         .         .         .  188 

Drummond,  Thomas,  American  Jurist,     .....  190 

Dunning,  H.,  Clergyman,     .......  196 

Darling,  Henry,  Clergyman,     .......  56 

Dean,  Sidney,  Clergyman,              ......  21 

Dailey,  J.  P.,  Clergyman,         ...          •  199 

Duane>  Richard  B.,  Clergyman,             .....  102 

Dyer,  David,  Clergyman,          .......  197 

Disraeli,  Benjamin,  British  Statesman,           ....  188 

D'Aubigne,  ^Vlerle,  Swiss  Author,     ......  165 

Edison,  Thomas  Alva,  Inventor,            .         .         .         .         .  83 

Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo,  Author, 168 

Eddy,  Richard,  Clergyman,           .         .         .         .         .         .  125 

Eddy,  T.  M.,  Clergyman,         .......  199 

Edgar,  Cornelius  Henry,  Clergyman,             ....  199 


2l6  INDEX   TO   TRIBUTES. 

PAGE 

Ellis,  Charles  Mayo,  Lawyer,            .         .         .         .         .  17 

Eddy,  Daniel  Clark,  Clergyman,            .         .         .         .         .  15 

Everett,  Charles  Carroll,  Theologian,        .....  197 

Fulton,  Justin  Devvey,  Clergyman,            .....  188 

Fisher,  George  Park,  Theologian,          .          .         .         .          .  190 

Fisk,  Clinton  Bowen,  Brevet  Major  General,  U.  S.  A.,     .         .  193 

Franklin,  William  Buel,  Major  General,  U.  S.  A.,        .         .  191 

Fee,  John  G.,  Educator, 201 

Foote,  Henry  Wilder,  Clergyman,         .                   .         .         .  190 

Forney,  John  \V.,  Journalist,             .         .         .         .         .         .  124 

Frieze,  Henry  Simmons,  Educator,        .....  54 

Frothingham,  Octavius  B.,  Author  and  Divine,         ...  75 

Frye,  William  P.,  United  States  Senator,      ....  92 

Frelinghuysen,  Frederick  T.,  ex-United  States  Senator,             .  188 

Fowler,  Charles  Henry,  Clergyman,      .....  199 

Fowler,  Henry,  Clergyman,  ...         .         .         .         .158 

Field,  Richard  Stockton,  ex-United  States  Senator,        .         .  140 

Farquhar,  John,  Clergyman, 171 

Fox,  Henry,  Clergyman,       .......  106 

Gough,  John  B.,  Temperance  Lecturer,            .         .         .         .  128 

Gunsaulus,  F.  W.,  Clergyman,      .         .         .         .         .         .  195 

Godwin,  Parke,  Journalist,       .......  27 

Gear,  D.  L.,  Clergyman,      .......  43 

Garland,  Augustus  H.,  ex-United  States  Senator,      ...  30 

Grant,  Ulysses  S.,  President  and  General,     .         .         .         .  184 

Gurley,  Phineas  Densmore,  Clergyman,  .         .         .         .187 

Gordon,  William  Robert,  Clergyman,             ....  68 

Garrison,  Joseph  Fithian,  Clergyman,       .         .         .                   .  200 

Gaddis,  M.  P.,  Clergyman, 163 

Grow,  Galusha  Aaron,  Statesman,    ......  135 

Gray,  Asa,  Botanist,     ........  55 

Grey,  Sir  George,  English  Statesman,        .         .         .         .         •  123 

Haven,  Gilbert,  Methodist  Bishop,        .         .         .         .         .  194 

Howells,  William  Dean,  Author,      .          .         .         .         .         .  194 

Hatch,  Ruf us,  Banker, 153 

Holland,  Josiah  Gilbert,  Author, 196 

Hague,  William,  Clergyman,         .         .         .         .  .        .         .  193 


INDEX   TO   TRIBUTES.  21  / 

PAGE 

Hepworth,  George  H.,  Clergyman,           .....  191 

Hubbard,  Gurdon  S.,  Trader,        ......  191 

Hall,  Newman,  English  Clergyman,          .....  193 

Hart,  Charles  Henry,  Author,       ......  196 

Hancock,  Winfield  S.,  Major  General,  U.  S.  A.,               .         .  9 

Hammond,  Charles,  Clergyman,             .....  46 

Hastings,  Hugh  J.,  Journalist,         ......  34 

Hathaway,  Warren,  Clergyman,             .....  82 

Hewitt,  Abram  S.,  Statesman,          ......  89 

Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  Author,          .         ...         .         .  188 

Higginson,  Thomas  Wentworth,  Author,           ....  67 

Haven,  Erastus  Otis,  Methodist  Bishop,         ....  47 

Harrington,  C.  S.,  Educator, 185 

Hamlin,  Hannibal,  ex-Vice  President  U.  S.,          .         .         .  190 

Hugo,  Victor,  Poet  and  Novelist,     ......  193 

Hayden,  Mrs.  Caroline  A.,  Poet,           .....  146 

Hall,  Gordon,  Clergyman,        .......  198 

Hornblower,  W.  H.,  Clergyman,           .....  197 

Hardinge,  Miss  Emma,  Poet,            .         .         .         .         .         .  131 

Hunt,  Albert  S.,  Clergyman,         .                   .         .         .  74 

Hooper,  Mrs.  Lucy  Hamilton,  Poet,         .....  160 

Halpine,  Charles  Graham,  Journalist  and  Poet,     .         .        ".  112 

Hosmer,  W.  H.  C.,  Poet, 94 

Hawley,  Joseph  R.,  Brevet  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  A.,       .  96 
Hurlbut,  Stephen  A.,  Major  General,  U.  S.  A.,       .         .         .188 

Hayes,  Rutherford  B.,  ex-President,  U.  S.,           .         .         .  186 

Hale,  Eugene,  United  States  Senator,       .         .         .         .         .  136 

Hartzell,  J.  Hazard,  Clergyman,            .         .         .         .         .  2OI 

Ingersoll,  Robert  G.,  Orator, 195 

Ingalls,  John  James,  Statesman,    ......  7 

Irvin,  William,  Clergyman,       .......  31 

Johnson,  Herrick,  Clergyman,      ......  33 

Julian,  George  W.,  Congressman,     ......  194 

Janeway,  J.  L.,  Clergyman,           ......  81 

Jeffery,  R.  Clergyman 180 

Kirk  wood,  Samuel  J.,  ex-Governor  of  Iowa,          .         .         .  188 

Kelley,  William  D.,  Congressman,            .                   ...  192 


2l8  INDEX   TO   TRIBUTES. 

PACE 

Keeling,  R.  J.,  Clergyman,       .                           ....  25 

Krebs,  Hugo,  Clergyman,    .......  71 

Kimball,  Harriet  McEwen,  Poet,              113 

La  Matyr,  G.  De,  Congressman, 189 

Leland,  Charles  Godfrey,  Author,  .         .         .         .         .189 

Lanman,  Charles,  Author,     .          .         .         .         .         .         .  193 

Lord,  Rev.  Dr.,       .........  198 

Ludlovv,  James  M.,  Clergyman,    ......  19 

Lowe,  Charles,  Clergyman,       .......  41 

Love,  William  De  Loss,  Clergyman,     .....  3 

Lothrop,  Samuel  Kirkland,  Clergyman,  .         .         .         .155 

Littlejohn,  Abram  Newkirk,  Episcopal  Bishop,     .         .         .  145 

Lowry,  Robert,  Clergyman,     .         .         .         .         .         .         .  200 

Lowe,  Martha  Perry,  Poet,            ......  52 

Lowell,  James  Russell,  Poet,  .         .         .         .         .         .150 

Laboulaye,  Edouard,  French  Jurist  and  Author,             .         .  144 

Maynard,  Horace,  Statesman,            ......  191 

Minier,  George  W.,  Merchant,     ......  195 

Manning,  J.  M.,  Clergyman,             ......  193 

Morton,  Levi  P.,  ex- Vice  President,  U.  S.,            ...  51 

Murdoch,  James  Edwin,  Actor,         ......  194 

Miller,  Samuel  F.,  American  Jurist,      .         .         .         .         .  199 

Meigs,  Montgomery  C. ,  Major  General,  U.  S.  A.,             .         .  195 

Mcllvaine,  Charles  P.,  Episcopal  Bishop,     ....  195 

Marvin,  James,  Educator,         .         .         .          .         .         .          .193 

Matthews,  Stanley,  Jurist, 66 

McLellan,  Isaac,  Poet,               .......  22 

Morey,  William  C.,  Educator,       ......  190 

McCullough,  Hugh,  Lincoln's  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,          .  72 

McClintock,  John,  Educator,         ......  193 

McClure,  A.  K.,  Journalist,     .         .         .         .         .         .         .  203 

Morgan,  William  F.,  Clergyman,           .....  192 

Merritt,  Wesley,  Major  General,  U.  S.  A.,       .         .         .         .  116 

Mill,  John  Stuart,  Author,    .          .         ...         .         .         .  194 

Mayo,  A.  D.,  Clergyman,         .......  40 

Morais,  S.,  Clergyman,         .......  26 

McCauley,  James  A.,  Clergyman,  .         .         .         .         .18 

Morehouse,  H.  L.,  Clergyman,     .          .....  167 


INDEX   TO    TRIBUTES.  2IQ 

PAGE 

Murray,  William  H.  H.,  Clergyman,    .          .         .         .         .  154 

Miner,  A.  A.,  Clergyman,        .......  142 

Martin,  Henri  Louis  Bon,  French  Historian,         .         .  109 

Nichols,  Samuel  J.,  Clergyman,    ......  192 

Nason,  Elias,  Clergyman,         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  192 

Newton,  Wm.  Wilberforce,  Clergyman,        ....  191 

New,  John  C.,  Financier,         .         .         .         .         .         .         .189 

Northrop,  Cyrus,  Educator,           ......  23 

Niles,  H.  E.,  Clergyman,         .......  200 

Nelson,  Henry  Addison,  Clergyman,    .         .         .         .         .  177 

Noble,  Mason,  Captain,  U.  S.  Navy,        .....  200 

Neale,  Rollin  Heber,  Clergyman,          .....  196 

Porter,  Noah,  Clergyman,         .         .         .         .         .         .     *    .  194 

Porter,  David  D.,  Admiral,  U.  S.  N.f            ....  88 

Phillips,  Wendell,  Orator, 20 

Pike,  Albert,  Lawyer, .  53 

Patterson,  James  Willis,  ex-United  States  Senator,  ...  73 

Porter,  Robert  P.,  Journalist, 188 

Pratt,  Calvin  E.,  Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  A.,          .         .         -93 

Palmer,  Ray,  Author  and  Clergyman,             ....  98 

Poore,  Ben.  Perley,  Journalist,          .         .         .         .         .         .118 

Paddock,  Wilbur  F.,  Clergyman,           .....  97 

Purinton,  J.  M.,  Clergyman,             ......  114 

Putnam,  George,  Clergyman, 197 

Patterson,  Adoniram  J.,  Clergyman,          .         .         .         .         .  5 

Patton,  Alfred  Spencer,  Clergyman,      .         .         .         .         .  121 
Proctor,  Edna  Dean,  Poet,        .         .         .          .  ,      .         .         .175 

Prime,  S.  Irenseus,  Journalist, 45 

Payne,  C.  A.,  Educator, 8 

Quint,  Alonzo  Hall,  Clergyman,            .         .         .         .         .  198 

Rector,  H.  M.,  ex-Governor  of  Arkansas,         ....  100 

Rice,  Alexander  H.,  ex-Governor  of  Massachusetts,      .         .  189 

Ramsey,  Alexander,  Hayes'  Secretary  of  War,          .         .  193 

Rankin,  Jeremiah  E.,  Clergyman, 173 

Robinson,  T.  H.,  Clergyman,           ......  4 

Rice,  Nathan  Lewis,  Clergyman,           .         .         .         .         .  13 

Russell,  Peter,  Clergyman, 196 


220  INDEX   TO   TRIBUTES. 

PAGE 

Robinson,  Charles  Seymour,  Clergyman,       .         .         .         .         198 

Reed,  S.,  Clergyman, 199 

Russell,  Lord  John,  English  Statesman,        ....         122 

Stone,  Andrew  Leete,  Clergyman,    ......     192 

Swing,  David,  Clergyman,  ......          194 

Simpson,  Matthew,  Methodist  Bishop,      .         .         .         .         .183 

Smyth,  Frederick,  ex-Governor  of  New  Hampshire,      .         .          195 
Sherman,  William  T.,  Lieutenant  General,  U.  S.  A.,       .         .      191 
Strong,  William,  American  Jurist,         .....          192 

Smith,  William  F.,  Major  General,  U.  S.  A.,  ...     190 

Stoneman,  George,  Major  General,  U.  S   A.,        .         .         .  86 

Spinner,  Francis  E.,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,         ...       58 
Swisshelm,  Jane  Grey,  Authoress,         .....  78 

Smith,  Richard,  Journalist,       •'.*,.         .         .         .         .          .76 

Smith,  Goldwin,  English  Author,  .....  84 

Storrs,  Richard  S.,  Clergyman,         .  -  .         .         .         .91 

Speed,  Joshua  F.,  Merchant,         ......         193 

Shaman,  Andrew,  Journalist,  ......       59 

Stephens,  Alex.  H.,  Statesman,     ...>..          192 
Swett,  Leonard,  Lawyer,  .         .         .         .         .         .         .     196 

Smith,  Gerrit,  Philanthropist,        .         .         .         .         .    %     .         190 

Sweetser,  Seth,  Clergyman,      .         .         .         .  .          .185 

Stanton,  Edwin  M.,  Lincoln's  Secretary  of  War,  ...  6^ 

Stoddard,  Richard  Henry,  Poet,       ;         .         .         .         .         .185 

Stedman,  Edmund  Clarence,  Poet,         .....         147 

Street,  Alfred  B.,  Poet, 172 

Steiner,  Lewis  H.,  Physician,        .         .         .         .         .         .         117 

Sedgwick,  Charles  B.,  Congressman,         .         .         .         .         .     196 

Steele,  Richard  H.,  Clergyman,  .         .         .         ,•        .  39 

Searing,  Edward,  Clergyman,        "...         .         .         .36 

Strong,  J.  D.,  Clergyman,    .         .         ,         .         .         .         .          166 

Snively,  William  A.,  Clergyman,      .         .         .         .         .         .152 

Smith,  Henry,  Clergyman,  ......  35 

Slater,  Edward  C.,  Clergyman,         ......       24 

Seiss,  Joseph  A.,  Theologian,       .         .         .         .         .         .  u 

Sabine,  Wm.  T.,  Clergyman,  ......      196 

Spear,  Samuel  Thayer,  Clergyman,        .         .         .         .         .          170 

Swaim,  Thomas,  Clergyman,    ...         .         .          .         .         .      198 

Speed,  James,  Lincoln's  Attorney  General,  ...  62 


INDEX    TO   TRIBUTES.  221 

PAGE 

Sumner,  Charles,  Statesman,             .         .         .         .         .         .  187 

Schurz,  Carl,  Statesman, 129 

Silva,  Sr.  Rebello  da,  Portuguese  Statesman,  .         .         .186 

Tovvnsend,  Edward  Davis,  Major  General,  U.  S.  A.,             .  108 

Tyng,  Stephen  H.,  Clergyman, 169 

Taylor,  Archibald  A.  E.,  Educator,      .         .          .         .         .  192 

Trowbridge,  John  Townsend,  Author, 38 

Toclcl,  John  E.,  Clergyman, 119 

Tapley,  Rufus  P.,  Lawyer,       .         .          .....  44 

Thrall,  S.  C.,  Clergyman 137 

Thompson,  John  C.,  Clergyman, 16 

Tucker,  Joshua  Thomas,  Clergyman,  101 

Thomas,  A.  G.,  Clergyman 188 

Thompson,  Joseph  Parrish,  Clergyman,         ....  14 

Taylor,  Benjamin  F.,  Author,           ......  57 

Usher,  John  Palmer,  Lincoln's  Secretary  of  the  Interior,       .  194 

Volk,  Leonard  Wells,  Sculptor,         .         .         .         .         .          .195 

Vincent,  Marvin  Richardson,  Clergyman,      ....  138 

Warner,  Willard,  ex-United  States  Senator,      .         .         .         .  174 

\Vilson,  Henry,  ex-Vice  President,         .....  194 

Williams,  S.  Wells,  Author, 195 

Webb,  Edwin  B.,  Clergyman, 193 

Walden,  Tread  well,  Clergyman, 32 

Warner,  Charles  Dudley,  Author, 42 

Winthrop,  Robert  Charles,  Statesman, 194 

Whitney,  Henry  C.,  Author,         ......  198 

Wilson,  William  T.,  Clergyman, 164 

Wallace,  Charles  C.,  Clergyman, 200 

White,  Erskine  N.,  Clergyman,        ....         r.         .  50 

Williams,  Robert  H.,  Clergyman 37 

Wortman,  Denis,  Clergyman,            ......  104 

Woodburn,  Augustus,  Clergyman, 200 

Westall,  John,  Poet 126 

Williams,  William  R.,  Clergyman I98 

Watterson,  Henry,  Journalist,           .         .         .         .         .  157 

Yourtee,  S.  L.,  Clergyman,            .    ^ 13° 


THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  SANTA  CRUZ 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  DATE  stamped  below. 


WOV27 

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NOV  30  1978REC'D 

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MAR  8    1979 


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